A Fourth and Final Week in the Life
by AnneM.Oliver
Summary: Fourth and final story in the "Week in the Life" series. Each chapter takes place one day & one year of Draco & Hermione's life while their daughter is in school. This story follows the love story started in the other three installments. Dramione
1. Day One, Year One

**All Characters belong to JKR and Warner Brothers**

**

* * *

**

Summary: The fourth and final story in the "Week in the Life" Series. Each chapter covers one day, of one month, of one year, while Draco and Hermione's daughters is at Hogwarts. The ups and downs in each chapter continues with the celebration of their life together, and each year will not only test the strength of their marriage, but also their love.

* * *

**A Fourth and Final Week in the Life**

By

AnneM.

* * *

**Chapter 1, Day One, Sept 1, Monday, Year One**

* * *

**Packing Up Memories:**

Packing up all of her daughter's belongings, Hermione felt wistful. She was going to miss her daughter more than words could say, yet still, she felt her daughter's excitement. She remembered how happy she was the day her mother helped her pack her own trunk for Hogwarts. Hermione held up a little stuffed rabbit, Peter Rabbit, the only thing that remained from Olivia's Beatrix Potter themed nursery. Long gone were the murals that graced the green walls of a child's nursery, replaced by the bright blue walls of a young girl's bedroom. Hermione could scarcely believe that her own little daughter was old enough to go to Hogwarts.

It was just yesterday that her daughter was born, and now, time would spin so fast. Hermione knew that in a heartbeat her daughter would be grown and away from her mother's arms. Her daughter was fiercely independent. This was the little girl who fell off a broom at age five, and who instead of crying, told her daddy that she wanted to try again, even though she fractured her wrist.

This was the little girl who learned to read at age four and who from that time on insisted on reading to her mummy and daddy at bedtime, instead of the other way around.

And this was the little girl who just announced the other day, to her father, that when she grew up she was going to marry her godfather's son, James, much to her daddy's chagrin.

She said she would not miss her parents at all, and already announced the fact that she would be too busy to write. Well, her parents would miss her, more than they could say.

Olivia Alexis Malfoy, apple of her father's eye, her mother's perfect daughter, with her bright blue eyes and curly brown hair, was going to Hogwarts, and Hogwarts had better be prepared. She was a beautiful girl, everyone thought so, but Olivia, or Livy, as she was known, was a tomboy, who would rather catch bugs and fly on brooms than have tea parties or play with dolls, and who had a terrible temper, but had a compassion for others with would rival the greatest empathic. She inherited her wicked sense of humour from her father, and her sense of adventure from her mother. She loved to read, and play the piano, and play practical jokes that made George Weasley once call her a 'kindred spirit'.

Hermione looked at a picture that Olivia had already packed in her suitcase. It was of her and her best friend, James Potter. James was six months younger than she was, and though Draco tried to tell her that the 'man' should be older than the woman, she was smart enough to point out to him that he was nine months younger than her mum was. Smart girl. In fact, Olivia was so smart that last year, when she turned eleven, (last August 19th) and she really should have gone off to Hogwarts, she decided that she wanted to wait a year, so she and James could go together. She was afraid if she went off to school without him, he might forget about her. Draco hoped that he would. Hermione assured her that he would not, but in the end, secretly glad that her daughter would have a built in friend, Hermione agreed, and Draco was talked into agreeing as well. Hermione remembered how scared and alone she was her first few months at school, and she didn't want that for her little girl. She was also thankful for one more year with her daughter.

In addition, Hermione figured it would be good that Olivia was a bit more mature, a little older, than the other students. Hermione was always one of the older ones, and she felt that it would give Olivia an advantage.

**Yelling at ****Draco**:

Hermione got up from the bed, where she had been reminiscing, to place the photograph back in her daughter's trunk, when she saw 'it'. Olivia was extremely organized, something she got from her father, and so Hermione had no trouble seeing the offending object as it laid on top of her daughter's folded jumpers. Hermione picked the book in question up, and walked to the top of the stairs.

She called down to her husband, "Draco, could you come up here for a moment?" She knew he would be in the living room, reading his paper for the second time. He always read his paper twice, once in bed, and the second time in the living room, before breakfast. Hermione waited a few moments, she knew he heard her yell, and then she yelled a second time, "Draco Malfoy, come upstairs immediately!"

He appeared at the bottom of the stairs, holding up his paper, "Granger, I must insist you stop yelling at me like a banshee. You've been a Malfoy for thirteen years now. It's time you act like one."

"If I'm such a Malfoy, why do you insist on calling me Granger?" Hermione asked.

"What the hell should I call you?" he asked. He started back in the living room.

"Draco, please, come up here!" Hermione seethed.

He stayed at the bottom of the stairs and held up his paper, which had a large hole in the middle where an article had been removed from the fourth page. "How many times must I insist that you not cut my paper to shreds until I've read it? For years, I have begged, nay, pleaded, with you. I have gotten you your own subscription, but still, you cut my paper to ribbons!"

"I didn't do that, I swear," Hermione said. "Perhaps your daughter did it. Did that occur to you? Speaking of your daughter, please come up stairs for a moment."

"I'd really rather not," he said. "Every time you call her 'my daughter' she's done something naughty." He started back to the lounge for the third time. He turned back up to look at her and said, "And I can't believe you would blame your own daughter for butchering my paper when you know that I know that you did it. You're such a terrible liar. I know a liar when I see one, and you're lying!"

Hermione smiled and said, "Well, there was an interesting story on a new species of Dragon found in northern Hungary, and I can't find my copy of the paper. There, that's the truth, now may I discuss something of importance with you?"

He looked back up at her as she stood on the stairs, then he leaned near the door of the living room, and he said, "I don't think so."

Hermione yelled, "DRACO MALFOY, WILL YOU PLEASE COME UP THESE STAIRS?"

"That depends," he said from the bottom step. "Are you angry with me, or her? I can't tell from your tone, and I'm not in the mood to fend off your anger if it's addressed toward me." He started up the stairs and said, "So, what say you, Granger, is the villain in this story me or Olivia?"

"I'd rather say both," she admitted.

He came up the stairs, with his paper tucked under his arm. He leaned toward her and said, "May I have a morning kiss first?"

She glared at him.

"Is that a no?"

Her eyes narrowed. She said, "I will not only kiss you, but as soon as Olivia is safely on the train to Hogwarts, I will show you how much I still love you, in a very special way, but right now, we have bigger fish to fry, so follow me to your daughter's room." Hermione started down the hallway, with Draco right behind. He reached out and pinched her bum. She turned around and smacked him.

"If I'm getting some sex later, I need a warm up," he said. She took his hand and they walked in Livy's room. She let go of his hand, and reached into Olivia's trunk. She picked up a big black book and threw it at him. It hit his shoulder and he yelped in pain. "Ouch, damn you, Granger, why did you do that?" He bent down and picked up the book. "I'm appalled you would throw this at me. I know you don't respect me, but this is a book! I thought you revered books more than life itself."

Hermione decided to ignore him, even though she had to smile, because he was partially right. She did respect books more than she did him. She stood in front of him, hands on hips and said, "Didn't I tell you not to buy this book for Olivia the other day when we were buying her schoolbooks?"

**About a Book:**

Draco looked at the book and said, "Hmm, you might have. I don't recall. You say so much, and in all honesty, I only hear maybe 50 percent of everything you say."

"Draco," she warned with an even voice.

"Fine, I recall you telling me not to buy her this book," he admitted.

"Then why did you?" she asked.

"Well, she looked so sweetly at me, and honestly, I told her to hide it in her trunk where you couldn't find it, so it's her fault. Why were you snooping? I'm shocked at you." He put the book back on top of her clothing in her trunk. Hermione picked it back up. Draco said, "She probably didn't have time to hide it yet, because you've been up here in her room all morning."

Draco looked around and added, "Seriously, there are books everywhere. Our daughter has enough books to open her own library. I don't even know how you singled out this one little book."

Hermione sat on the bed. She knew it was a losing battle. Her daughter was spoiled, that much was true. Being an only child, it was bound to have happened. In addition, she had her father wrapped around her little finger since the day she was born. She was lucky, however, since her daughter never threw fits, and was always compassionate toward others. If she even once acted the way Draco had as a child, Hermione would have intervened a long time before.

Draco sat beside her and said, "What's bothering you, really, my little wifey poo? Are you sad that your only child no longer needs you?"

Hermione gave him another scathing look, pointed toward the book in question, and said, "What in the world is that?"

"It's called a book. Say it with me, a book. Spelled B-O-O-K." He looked at his nails smugly.

Hermione said, "Okay, smart aleck, why is that particular book in your daughter's room?"

"Because she's a little bookworm like her mummy, whom I love very much." He leaned over and kissed his wife's cheek.

"Wrong answer," Hermione said, pushing him off the bed.

"Granger, what do you want me to say?" he asked. He stood up. "Our daughter wanted me to buy her that book, even though you told her she couldn't have it, so I did. End of story. You bought her a lot of stuff the other day, if I recall." He put the book back in Livy's trunk.

Hermione stood up and walked around the room and said, "Yes, I bought her schoolbooks, school robes, quills and parchment. Things she would need, not particularly want. I told her she couldn't have this, and then I remember that I turned to you, pointed, sneered, and said, and I quote, 'Draco Malfoy don't you dare, under any circumstances, buy her this book, no matter how much she begs.' Don't you recall that?"

"I really don't," he lied.

"Dammit, Draco, this book is not appropriate for a twelve year old girl!"

Draco picked the book back up and said, "Why, does it have dirty pictures in it?"

"No, idiot," she said, taking it from him again. "It's on the dark arts! If she's caught reading this in school, I shudder to think what might happen!"

Draco smiled and said, "I know what will happen. She might learn a thing or two and everyone might be afraid of her, and seriously, Hermione, is that such a bad thing? Everyone was afraid of me growing up, because of my family and their connections with the dark arts, as well as because I was incredibly intimidating, good looking, and smart. I wouldn't change a thing. Don't worry, she's inherited a few things from you that might intimidate people as well, such as her scary hair and that scowl you have on your face right now. She mimics that look all the time."

Hermione sighed and said, "She's not taking this book to school and you shouldn't have bought it for her, end of discussion. You need to learn to say no to her, because she manipulates you far too much."

**Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and others: **

Draco laughed and said, "Bloody hell, you manipulate me far more than she does and you know it's true. Anyway, it's good for a future Slytherin to know a bit about the dark arts. You knew a fair bit about them as well, if I recall."

"That's because we fought against them, Ron, Harry and I," Hermione argued, "And furthermore, how do you know she'll be in Slytherin?"

Draco frowned and said, "Where else will she be? All Malfoy's are in Slytherin."

"Your mother's sister, Andromeda Tonks, and your mother's cousin, Sirius Black were in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," Hermione pointed out. "So, she has a good chance to be in one of those as well."

Draco rushed her, knocked her to the bed and put his hand on her mouth. She was shocked but laughed under his hand. "Bite your tongue, Granger! If our daughter's in Hufflepuff, I'll kill myself."

He removed his hand and she said, "And I shall miss you."

He winked at her and said, "Now that we're in this position, how about my good morning kiss? Instead of you biting your own tongue, I shall bite it for you."

He leaned down and placed his lips softly on hers. She pushed him off her and they lay side by side on their daughter's bed. She traced her hand down his face and said, "I'm serious, Malfoy. What if she **is** in Hufflepuff? I don't want our daughter in that house."

He laughed again and said, "You are such a hypocrite! All those years of saying that there's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff. Anyway, there's no way in hell she'll be there. Maybe Ravenclaw, if not Slytherin, but never Hufflepuff or Gryffindor."

Hermione kicked him off the bed again. He landed with a thump on his back. She moved so she was flat on her belly on the bed, looked down at him, and she said, "She would be a great Gryffindor, Stupidhead."

"Stupidhead? Did my incredibly smart wife, the former Gryffindor, just call me Stupidhead?" he asked. He sat up with his back against the wall. Hermione climbed off the bed and sat next to him.

"Seriously, what if she's in Hufflepuff?" Hermione asked.

"You're worrying about the wrong thing, but if she is, we shall disown her, that's all," he said. "And about Andromeda and Sirius, they were both 'Blacks', not Malfoy's, so you shouldn't worry, for she'll be in Slytherin. I feel it in my bones. You just don't want her to be in Slytherin, do you?"

Hermione took her husband's hand and traced his fingers with hers. She said, "No, I don't. She's a halfblood and they might be mean to her there, and she might have a difficult time."

Draco removed his hand from his wife's hand and touched her cheek. "Sweetheart, seriously, she would be fine no matter where they put her, but if you would rather, I will make a sizable bribe to the school and we can make sure she's in Ravenclaw."

Hermione giggled and put her head on Draco's shoulder. "What are you going to do, bribe the sorting hat? Maybe you could offer it a new brim. Maybe delouse it?" She thought she was hilarious and started to laugh.

Draco stood up and reached down to help her up. "Thirteen years of marriage and still none of my humour has ever rubbed off on you. If anything, you are more ascetic than you were before."

**Owls and Mirrors: **

Hermione smacked his hand away, stood by herself, and said, "Oh, poo."

He pushed her against the wall, captured her hands in his and put them above her head. He placed his mouth near her ear and said, "I love it when you talk dirty to me, Granger. Say something else."

Harry Potter stood in the doorway and said, "How about Draco Malfoy is a big pain in the arse."

Draco sighed and put his face in the crook of his wife's neck. He said, "Please tell me that voice is an apparition and that Potter is not actually at the door to this room."

Hermione pushed Draco away from her and walked over to Harry. She hugged him and said, "Hello, Harry. I thought we were meeting at your house for breakfast before we took the kids to the train."

"Sorry, slight change. Ginny sends her apologies, but Lily and Albus both have the flu, so I went ahead and brought James here. I brought breakfast as well. The kids are already eating," he said. "What are you two doing up here?"

"Talking about books about the dark arts and also discussing houses of Hogwarts," Hermione said.

Harry smiled and said, "You're worried Olivia might be in Slytherin, aren't you?"

Draco said, "No! She's worried Livy might fall and hit her head and get a big lightning bolt scar on her forehead and then she'll grow up to be a freak, because apparently that happens to all lightning bolt scarheads." He stormed out of the room.

Hermione picked up the book on the dark arts and showed it to Harry. He said, "You should let her take it. We wouldn't have survived to adulthood without all the dark art books that you read." Hermione shrugged and placed it back in the trunk.

Draco stuck his head back in the door and said, "I argued with you for a good twenty minutes about that blasted book! Potter tells you to let her take it, and you pack it back up? What does that mean, Granger?"

"It means first that you were eavesdropping, and it means second that I love Harry more than I love you," she said. She and Harry walked hand in hand down the stairs, and Draco came down as well, broke through their clasped hands, and went toward the dining room.

Olivia and James were already at the table, chatting animatedly about the train ride, Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and everything else. James Potter looked just like his father, Harry, only he didn't have glasses, and of course, minus the scar. The thing was that Draco and James always got along so well, that Hermione was constantly shocked at how they interacted, since Harry and Draco still didn't really like each other to this day. Harry's other son, Albus, was only nine, and he had red hair, like the Weasleys, and he was sweet as the day was long, and very sensitive. Lily was seven, and she had dark brown hair, and was already known for her beauty, and her gentle nature.

James was the perfect match for Olivia. She had a temper and he was even-tempered and sweet natured. Where she was a passionate persuader, he was level headed and agreeable. Their relationship reminded Hermione greatly of hers and Draco's relationship. They were two opposite halves, which together, made a whole.

Ron and Lavender also had two children. They had twin sons, names Hugo and Harry. They were only five. They both had red hair and were already mischief-makers.

Hermione said, "Livy, I finished packing your trunk. After you eat, you run back upstairs, do a second sweep, and make sure you haven't forgotten anything. I found your little book as well, but you may take it,"

Draco looked at his daughter as her face turned red with embarrassment, since she was caught with a book she wasn't suppose to have. "Yes, Livy, I got in trouble for that book. You should have hidden it better, like I told you to."

Hermione said, "Don't you dare try to blame your daughter for this, Draco Malfoy." Hermione added to Olivia, "Don't forget to change the paper in your owl's cage before you leave."

James said, "When did you get an owl?"

"Dad got it for me. Her name is Sage. She's beautiful. He got you one as well," Olivia said.

"Dammit, Olivia, it was supposed to be a surprise," Draco said.

"Draco, don't curse at the table and in front of guests." Hermione frowned at him.

"Hell, James has heard me say worse things than that, haven't you, James?" Draco said. He looked at Olivia and said, "Since you spoiled the surprise, go get the damn bird and show it to him." Olivia ran from the table and came back with a white large owl, which closely resembled Harry's old owl.

Harry felt choked for a moment, and said, "Thanks, Malfoy."

"I didn't do it for you, Potter. I did it for my wife's godson. Also, I knew you probably would forget to get them anything," Draco accused.

Harry took a big bite of eggs and said, "For your information, I got them something better. Remember my dad's magic mirror, the one he had with Sirius? Well, it took some doing on my part, but I had George work on a prototype and he was able to reproduce the magic. Here." Harry reached in a bag and handed a mirror to Hermione. She looked at it and handed it to Draco.

"So Olivia can look at herself?" Draco asked. He handed the mirror to Olivia.

Hermione said, "No, it's so we can communicate with her through the mirror!" She stood up and went over to hug Harry. "Oh, Harry, thank you so much!" Harry handed her the second mirror.

"Yes, well, James has one too, and George is working on a patent, so soon all magical families will probably have them, since cellular phones don't work on the grounds of the school, this is the next best thing," Harry explained.

Olivia said, "Can James and I talk to each other through the mirrors, too, Uncle Harry?"

"Well, normally they're just two way, but in this case, yes, they were made that way, but don't abuse them, or you might have them confiscated. It's probably best to be discreet," Harry said.

James smiled over at Olivia and she smiled at him. Olivia said, "Come on, James. Let's get my trunk!"

The pair left the table and Hermione said, "I think it's so sweet that they like each other so much."

"James said just this morning that he's going to marry her someday," Harry said.

Draco spit out the pumpkin juice he was swallowing. "Bloody hell, they're too young to talk of such things. I hope you backhanded him."

"Yes, Malfoy, I struck my child because he professed his love for your child, you moron," Harry seethed. He got up from the table and said, "I'll help Olivia with her trunk. We should be leaving, or we'll be late."

**The Train to Hogwarts:**

Olivia pulled the trolley with her trunk and belongings toward platform nine and three quarters. She looked back and smiled at her parents. Hermione leaned over and said, "She's so confident. Where does she get that? None of this fazes her. I was a bundle of nerves my first day."

"Well, she's grown up around magic, and you didn't, so that makes a difference," Draco said, grasping his wife's hand. They watched as Harry and James ran through the wall, between platforms 9 and 10. Olivia looked back once more and then trotted right through. Draco said, "After you, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione let go of his hand and went through the platform. She came through to the other side, instantly transported back in time to her days at Hogwarts. Draco came up behind her and put his arms around her middle.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it, Granger?' Draco asked.

"Yes, indeed," she agreed.

They walked up to their daughter, whose trunk was being placed on the train by Harry. Hermione smiled and said, "We promise to only use the mirror in emergencies, but you can use yours any time, if you get lonely, or sad, or afraid, or if you just have good news. Also, if you would rather, you could just write to us."

"I know, Mummy. I'll miss you so much." Olivia hugged her mother's waist, and Hermione leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She wanted to cry, but she would not.

Draco lifted Olivia up, hugged her, and said, "I put a few extra galleons in your trunk, just in case." He placed her feet back on the ground, and stroked her cheek. "We love you and are so proud, Livy."

"I'll write you tonight to let you know what house I'm in," she said. "I know that you're both worried about that." She smiled at her parents and climbed on the train.

"She's so smart," Hermione said as she looked over at Draco.

"She is your daughter, after all," he agreed. James climbed aboard the train right behind Olivia, and when they found an empty compartment, they both leaned out the window and waved. Harry and Draco walked up to the window and said goodbye again. Hermione remained where she was.

The train lurched forward, for they just made it in time, and as the train started to pull away, Olivia screamed out, "I love you, Mum!"

Hermione put her hand in the air and mouthed the words, "I love you, too."

Draco looked back as his wife's tears began to fall. He knew this would be hard on her. Her whole life for the past twelve years had been her daughter. She was bound to feel lost and forlorn. Harry remained at the edge of the platform and watched until the train was out of sight. Draco walked back over to Hermione, and held her tight, as her tears continued to fall.

Harry looked back over at them, motioned to Draco that he was leaving, smiled, and then apparated away. Draco and Hermione remained on the platform until they were the last two there. He finally let her go, and she said, "What do I do now?"

He kissed her cheek and said, "Anything you damn well want." He took her hand and disapparated with her on the spot.

**Back at Home, Draco and Hermione alone: **

Hermione spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly throughout the house. Whenever Draco would try to distract her, or draw her into conversation, she would be so distracted that she couldn't even concentrate on anything that he said. Finally, as she sat alone in the bath at night, he walked in the bathroom and heard her crying again.

"We just got an owl from Olivia," he said. She looked up at him expectantly. "Gryffindor, can you bloody well believe it? She's in Gryffindor. I hope I can stand the humiliation." Hermione looked away and continued to cry.

Her cat was on the bathmat and he said, "Granger, is that thing ever going to die?"

She cried harder. He shooed the cat away and sat down in Crookshanks abandoned spot. "It's like thirty years old or something," he said. He placed his hand in the water. It was cold. "How long have you been in here? The water's cold." He took his wand from his pocket and warmed the water instantly. He placed the wand on the sink and sat back on the floor.

"What can I do to help you, Hermione?" he asked.

"Just let me cry," she said.

"She'll be back at the winter break, and maybe we could even surprise her with a visit during Halloween. My parents did that for me my first year," he admitted.

She sniffed and said, "I'd like that." He leaned forward, took the sponge, and started to wash her back. "Draco, I want to open a bookstore."

"Wow, really?" He was surprised. "I thought maybe you would want to write another book or something. A bookstore? That'll take a lot of time and attention." He wanted to add, 'away from me', but he knew that wouldn't go over well with her. She didn't like it when he was selfish, although he felt it was one of his better qualities.

"I've thought about it for a long time, and I think I need something that will take my time and attention. Please, I need this. Actually, I'll probably do it whether you agree or not, but I hope you do agree." She looked toward him for support.

He grinned and said, "I think it's a wonderful idea. I'll even give you your start up capital. You'll owe me big time, then. I like it when you're indebted to me." He rinsed her back and stood up with a towel. She stood up and stepped out of the tub, and let him wrap her tightly in the towel. He held her for several long moments, and rocked her back and forth.

He whispered in her ear, "We have the house all to ourselves for the first time in twelve years, save for a couple of little elves, who are off in their little rooms. What do you say? Should we re-christen every room tonight, just you and I, buck naked, making love in the moonlight?"

"You have a poetic way with words, don't you, Draco?" She smiled. "Let's start in the bedroom, and work our way from there, shall we?"

He smirked and said, "I really love you, Hermione."

**Making Love:**

He pulled her into the bedroom and threw her towel on the floor. Draco leaned over and captured her lips to his. She moaned slightly under the feel of them. She grabbed at his blonde hair with both hands, as his hands roamed her back. One hand went gently to cup her bottom. Before either knew what was happening, they pulled and tugged his clothes from him, and soon, they were naked on top of their bed. Draco pulled and nibbled at her mouth, and then he lifted his head and smiled at her.

"I finally have you all to myself once again," he said.

"In a sense, yes," she answered. He descended his mouth to kiss her again. He raised his head, his grey eyes beguiling, beckoning to her. She knew the look, she had seen it so many times before, and she never grew tired of it. Hermione pulled his face down again and kissed him hard. He kissed her back, fiercely, demanding her lone attention, which she would gladly give.

He rolled to his back, and she rolled on top of him, her long curly hair grazing his face, her soft breasts lolling against his chest. Her breasts felt so good against him. Her legs slid between his. He rolled them over again and pinned her to the bed. His mouth left a trail of kisses around each breast. His mouth set her skin on fire. "I love you so much," he said, "You're more beautiful today than you were the day I fell in love with you."

She smiled and cupped his cheek. "Words will get you everywhere, Malfoy." He grinned and kissed her mouth again. She held him close as her back arched toward him. His mouth moved down to her stomach, and lower still. As his mouth kissed across her hip, his left hand began to explore the fragile area of her folds. She responded immediately, as he knew she would, with small whimpers, which he loved, and jerky movements of her hips, which he craved. He could not wait until the moment his body entered hers. He loved the anticipation of his reward. He would never tire of her, ever. She was all he ever wanted and needed. He wanted to relish every moment of every time they made love. Savor it. Enjoy it. Make it last.

He spread her legs, putting one over his shoulder, as his tongue set to work on her cleft, in that dance they both knew so well. It was more than just his tongue on her that made her mad with desire. It was the fact that he touched her heart and soul, every time they made love.

He was always gentle with her. He appreciated what he had. He had come too close to losing her too many times, either from his own stupidity, or from other outside causes. He never missed other women, as he tasted and loved his wife. She was all he ever needed, or ever wanted, he knew that for certain.

He never thought of touching another woman, of pleasuring any woman other than the woman under him. He never wanted her to touch another man, either. When she seemed to be on the edge, (and he could always tell the moment she was on the edge), he slid back up her body and drove himself deep inside her, the whole time his hands on both sides of her face, and his eyes staring deep within hers. She kept her eyes open as the look of ecstasy began to grace her features. As they ascended to the brink of ultimate pleasure, he placed his cheek next to hers and managed to say, "I love you!"

He quickened his strokes, for he knew he didn't have much longer. He drove himself into her deeper than he ever had, and as she lifted her hips to meet each and every stroke, he knew he was drawing her closer, and closer, and soon they would be lost in each other's release.

When they were sated, he pulled her to his side, and held her tighter than he had ever held her. When they were both composed, he said, "Why do I sometimes feel like I'm losing you? Sometimes when we make love, I feel like you're going to slip away."

She frowned and cupped his cheek. She propped her head on his chest and said, "Draco, I don't know how to reassure you. I know you've always felt that way, and I don't know what I can do to alleviate those fears. I tell you I love you, I make love to you, I stick by you in thick and thin, I forgive you for everything you do. What else can I do for you?" She spoke so softly, but with so much passion, that he wanted to cry. He knew it was nothing on her end, nothing she could do. It was his problem, and one he would always have to live with.

His pain tore at her heart, like a knife. She stroked his hair and let her head drop back to his chest. He put his hands in her hair and said, "Just never leave me." He continued to comb his hands through her hair, fanning it across his chest. He felt a tear from her eyes land on his chest. He said, "Don't cry, Hermione. I know if you haven't left me yet, you never will. Don't cry. I love you."

She looked up at him again and said, "And I love you, and that's going to have to be enough."


	2. Day Two, Year Two

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Day Two, Tuesday, October 30th, Year Two:**

* * *

**Early morning, in the stockroom**:

Hermione was climbing a ladder in the stockroom at her bookstore reaching for a box. She, Draco, Ginny and Harry were all planning to leave for a trip to Hogwarts later that day, and she had many last minute details to take care of at work before she left. This trip was a new little tradition. They visited Olivia at Halloween the first year of school, and decided to do it again this year. The only difference was that last year Hermione was not an entrepreneur and so she was not as stressed as she was this year. Plus, she had not been feeling well lately, she was tired, and had frequent headaches.

She had a wonderful staff working for her; in fact, the manager of the store had years and years of experience. Hermione had decided to open a Muggle bookstore, much to Draco's vexation. She sold children's books and classic literature. They conducted weekly reading sessions for the children, as well as book club meetings for the adults. It was a resounding success so far, so she didn't regret it at all. The only problem was that perhaps it was too much of a success. There was a man named Damon Belpre who had written to her twice, and even visited with the manager once, wanting to buy the store. He had a chain of bookstores, and he didn't like competition. Hermione would not, nay, could not, be swayed. This was her store, her dream, and she would not sell. It was not as if she needed the money. Draco had plenty of that.

Hermione felt dizzy up on the ladder. She had another slight headache. She also felt nauseated. She probably should have eaten this morning. She was sure that was the reason for her strange symptoms. She reached over to the far right, on the top shelf, to retrieve a box of receipt rolls. She didn't want the manager to have to climb and get them, and she didn't want them to run out while she was away.

She heard the bell on the door clang. She was sure she had locked the door. They were not even open yet. She must have forgotten.

She called out, "I'll be out in a moment." She climbed one more rung, reached over a dash more, and felt the ladder as it started to tip. She yelped in surprise, and at that moment, a man ran in the stockroom from the store, to steady the ladder before it fell over, with her still on top. She looked down and said, "Oh, thank you. That might have hurt." She laughed out of embarrassment.

The man, who still had a hold of the ladder, said, "Are you Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Yes," she said. Who was this?

"Hello, I spoke with your manager last week. My name is Damon Belpre," he said, holding up his hand. Hermione stepped down one rung and shook his hand.

Then she said, "Pardon, one moment." She climbed back up the ladder, and reached for the box with the receipt rolls once more. She said, "If only I was a bit taller."

"May I?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged, climbed down the ladder, and said, "I would appreciate it."

He climbed up the ladder, stood two rungs lower than she had, and reached for the box. She reached up for it, but he climbed down, the box in one arm, the other arm helping him climb. "Where shall I put this?" he asked.

Hermione pointed toward the store. He walked back through the stockroom and placed the box on the counter. "Thank you, Mr. Belpre," Hermione said.

Damon Belpre was not at all as she had pictured him. He had sandy brown hair, which he wore rather long, and piercing blue eyes. He was very good looking. Hermione said, "What may I do for you?"

"It's more what I can do for you." He smiled with his perfect white teeth. Hermione thought it was funny, as it seemed he was going to turn on the charm. "I would like to buy your store. I want you to know that I'll keep it a bookstore, and your entire staff will stay on, at a raise of pay I might add. I own a chain of bookstores, and I've been wanting to open one in this area for quite some time, but I thought, your store is already established, your store already has a built in customer base, I should just offer to buy it. Save myself time and trouble, you see." He smiled again, but this time, Hermione thought it was a genuine smile, not conniving.

"My store isn't for sale, so you have a slight problem," she said.

He said, "Everything is for sale for the right price. Money is really no object," he said. Just then, the bell over the door rang again. Draco walked in.  
Hermione said to Draco, "I'll be right with you, Sir."

Draco said, "Take you time, ma'am." He chuckled. He started to peruse the aisles.

"Now, Mr. Belpre, I thank you again for helping me with the box, and I don't mean to be rude, but I'm heading out of town today, and the store isn't really open yet, so if there isn't anything else I can do for you, I think you should leave," and she pointed toward the door.

"You haven't heard me out, yet, Mrs. Malfoy," the young man said. "If you would like, we could arrange a meeting when you come back from your trip. Where are you going, by the way?" Damon asked.

Draco looked up. Who was this noisy little bugger?

"I'm going to my daughter's boarding school for a few days," Hermione explained, as she tidied up the counter.

"How old is your daughter," he wondered.

"She's 13 years old," Hermione answered.

He expelled a small laugh and said, "Goodness, you barely look old enough to have a 13 year old daughter."

Draco frowned and from across the store he mumbled, "She does too look old enough."

Hermione said, "Well, I married young. I married at 24, had my daughter at 25, so you see, I'm quite old enough."

"I would have thought you were my age. I'm 30," he offered.

Draco mumbled, "No one cares how bloody old you are."

Damon turned to Draco and said, "Excuse me?"

Hermione looked over to Draco, gave him an exasperated look, and said, "May I help you find a certain book, Sir?" She stepped over to Draco and smiled.

"Yes, I would like a book on the Karma Sutra," Draco said, straight-faced.

Hermione grinned again and said, "I think you want the bookstore a few blocks over. We only sell classic literature, and children's books here."

"I'll just browse, then," Draco said.

Hermione walked back over to Damon and said, "Really, I'm flattered, but my store isn't for sale."

"I'm talking a lot of money here," Damon said.

"I don't really need the money; my husband is quite well off, actually, I only married him for his money," she said. Draco turned to look at her. He laughed loudly.

Damon laughed as well and said, "Well, I can see why he married you, beautiful and smart, and a shrewd businesswoman. I'll write an offer on my business card. Think it over and get back with me when you come back from your trip." He took a card out of his pocket, and wrote a figure on it. He handed it to her. "Either way, it was such a pleasure to finally meet you, and I do love your store, and I would hate to see you go out of business, when my store comes in and buries you," he said. He shook her hand. Draco sneered at the man.

Draco came up with an armful of books, broke through their clasped hands, and said, "I want to purchase all of these books, please. I can't imagine ever shopping anywhere but here." He gave the filthy prat a dirty look. Damon gave him a strange look back, and walked out the door.

Hermione watched him leave and said, "Hurry up and put all these back on the shelves, and make sure you put them in the right spot, and then we can leave."

"I come to your rescue, and now you want me do manual labour?" Draco asked. She merely nodded as she went to lock the door. "Who was that bastard?" Draco asked, as he put the books back on the right shelves.

"That's the man I told you about, Damon Belpre. He wants to buy the store," Hermione said, looking out the window as the man walked across the street.

"To think, he though by flattering you he could get you to sell. I know it's not that easy," he laughed. He bent down to put a book on a low shelf and asked, "What price did he quote?"

Hermione looked at the card for the first time and handed it to Draco. "Merlin's sakes, Granger, take the offer. That's three times what this dump is worth."

She hit him on the back of his head with a book and said, "I would never sell this place." She helped him return the books, and then they went home to finish packing for their trip.

**Hogsmeade on Halloween:**

Just an hour later, after having already checked into their rooms at the Inn, Harry, Ginny, Draco, and Hermione were all roaming the streets of Hogsmeade. The kids were given permission to meet them for breakfast, but they had not yet arrived.

Hermione said, "Do you know how glorious it feels to be back here?"

Ginny countered with, "Do you know how glorious it feels to be back here without any children. Just think, next year Al will join his brother at school, and the year after that, Lily. Then, Harry and I will be all alone. I can't wait."

Hermione looked down at the ground. She felt just the opposite. Last year without Olivia, was one of the loneliest years of Hermione's life. She had tried to talk Draco into adopting a child, since she couldn't have anymore because of her hysterectomy. However, Draco said he did not want any more children, and the subject died out. That was when she started to put all her time and attention into the bookstore.

Olivia worked with her there all summer long. She loved it as much as her mother did. Olivia was truly Hermione's kindred spirit. Not only her daughter, but also her friend. She was starting to get misty eyed when she heard, "Mum? Dad?" She looked up and saw Olivia running straight toward them, arms out wide, long brown curls flying behind her. Hermione ran toward her and hugged her as if she had not seen her in ages.

"Oh, darling! I've missed you so," Hermione said. She held on tight for a long time. Finally, Draco came up and took her from Hermione's arms.

"Stop hogging her," Draco said. He hugged his daughter. He put his hand on her head and said, "You're already almost as tall as Mum."

James came right behind them, embraced his parents, then shook Draco's hand, and hugged Hermione.

Harry suggested that they all grab a bite at the Three Broomsticks. He said, "Best damn butterbeer there is." Everyone agreed.

After a nice breakfast, they all went for a day of shopping, where Draco bought Olivia sweets, a new jumper, four new books, and a new quill, and he bought James some new Quidditch gear. He had made the team this year. Harry also bought them both presents, not to be out done.

They all decided to walk the kids back up to Hogwarts. Olivia and Hermione soon lagged behind.

Holding her mother's hand, Olivia said, "You look really tired, Mum. Are you spending too much time at the shop?"

"Probably. I am tired. I haven't felt well for a while, I have a cold I can't seem to get rid of, too," she said.

"Have you seen a healer?" Olivia asked.

Hermione looked at her only daughter, and saw the concern etched on her face. She said, "Goodness, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm just working too hard."

It was not long before the kids had to go back to afternoon classes. They had been pardoned from their morning classes, but they both had exams they couldn't miss that afternoon. They had plans to meet their parents again for dinner, and both were spending the night at the Inn with them. As Hermione and Draco started to walk back to Hogsmeade, she stopped and leaned against a tree.

"Can't keep up with me, old woman?" he laughed. "Oh, sorry, you don't even look old enough to have a 13 year old daughter. Seriously, that man was a joke this morning."

"You think I look old?" she asked.

He walked around her, wiggled his finger in front of her face and said, "No, no, no, I will not get into an argument with you. You know you're still stunning."

"Hey, Draco, we're near the forbidden forest. Remember the last time we were in there?" she reminisced.

"How can I forget? We were almost killed by a wild beast, you saved my life, and afterwards, we made out under the trees. Good times, indeed." He came up and hugged her. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, still holding her tight. He stroked his hand up and down her back.

"I feel under the weather," she said. "Let's go in the forest. Maybe that will revive me."

He looked down at her and said, "You're mad, woman. If we encounter a Manticore this time, I will likely die. There's no need to go in the forest."

She smiled and said, "Are you afraid?" She started toward the forest.

"Hermione, I'm not going in the forest," he said.

"Fine, go keep Harry and Ginny company. They're probably back at their room, making love. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you joined the fun," she expounded. She walked through the curtain of trees without him.

"You are disturbed," he said. He watched her until she disappeared. Damn her. He had to follow.

The tall ancient trees seemed all the more ominous, as the bright noon sun disappeared among the fall colours of the leaves billowing above the branches. He could not see which way Hermione walked, so he called her name. She called back to him. He ran toward her voice. She was kneeling beside a stream.

"Draco, look at the water. It's almost gold." She pointed toward the stream; the water was circling around the rocks and twigs embedded in its fold. Draco knelt next to her, reached out, and touched the water. The golden hue disappeared, to be replaced with blood red water. He gasped and withdrew his hand quickly, pulling her toward him, as he stood.

She couldn't look away, as the water mesmerized her. "Do you know what this stream is?" she asked.

"No, but I know we should get back to the Inn," he complained.

"Draco, I can't believe we found this, and just right here at the mouth of the forest. I can't believe we've never seen it before. Hagrid told us about it when we were young. It's called the stream of fallen waters. There's a waterfall at the mouth of the stream, and supposedly, if you stand inside the falls, you can see your future, and rediscover your past."

"I'm sure the only thing that happens when you stand in the falls is that you get wet, now let's go," he said. He grabbed her hand and started to walk out of the woods.

She pulled her hand from his and said, "I want to find the mouth of the stream. You can go back if you want." She was like a child discovering they could run for the first time. Her excitement was explicit and blatant. He could not have stopped her if he tried. All he could do was follow. He would follow her anywhere.

**The Stream of Fallen Waters:**

Hermione followed the stream as it weaved its way along the forest floor. Draco begrudging followed as well. After a half an hour hike, Draco said, "Hermione, please, let's stop."

"Come on," she begged, "I hear the water has magical properties." They reached a fallen log, in which they would have to either cross, or give up their search for the falls. Hermione dashed across quickly. Draco sighed, but he followed as well. Once on the other side, he stood to take a breath, and then he gasped and yelled out to her, when he saw that she was so far ahead. He saw her hair bellow out behind her, and then she was gone from his view.

"Damn woman!" he muttered. He ran the in the direction he had seen her go, but he truly didn't know which way she had gone, for the stream broke off in a fork. Did she go left, or right? Draco went to the right, in search of his wayward wife. He went the wrong way, because Hermione had traveled left.

She didn't know Draco was no longer with her, intent as she was to find the falls. She heard them, like a ghost wallowing in the night, long before she saw them. She walked down a rocky embankment, over fallen trees, which tried to bar the way. She finally stood before the massive falls. They were beautiful, and she was shocked at their magnitude.

The water frothed as it hit the rocks, and bubbled up the stream. She looked up, and saw that the falls seemed to come out of the rock as if, dare she say it, by magic, for there was no other source of water at the mouth of the falls. She held on to a few reeds, and slipped slightly in the mud as she walked along the bank. She could hear no sounds from the forest above the deafening sounds of the water hitting the stones below. She gazed upon the stream of cascading water and decided she was drawn to see her future. She stepped a hesitant foot on the shore, and then walked quickly into the water, over moss covered stones, and wet strewed foliage. She slipped once, falling forward, scraping her knees, and cutting one hand. She would not be deterred, she had to reach the base, and sneak behind the falls, to see if the story and the legend held merit, or was fable.

The water splashed around her knees, and soon the spray from the falls hit her face with sprinkles of water. She smelled the definite smell of sulfur denoting a hot spring somewhere. She reached the falls, completely wet, and walked through the harsh curtain of water, which beat on her body ruthlessly, yet allowing her admittance. She found herself heaving, cold with wet, breathing hard, as she stood on the other side of the falls.

Strangely enough, the sound soon died away, as if she was in a bell jar, and all outside influences ceased to exist. All sound was gone; the splashing of the water was gone. The smell was gone. She stood almost in a void; nothing existed except for a white lightness, and a peacefulness, which was beyond compare.

She shut her eyes, and as if she were a captive audience in her own brain, visions of her past and things to come rushed into her mind. Her past was familiar, and while she didn't mind reliving some things, many other things were harsh and better left alone.

After her past, and her present, she saw what she could only assume was her future, but it made little if any sense.

She saw her and Draco standing before a tower, gleaming white, with a gold door. She heard a scream, and then another. She didn't know who screamed, but the voice sounded almost like her own. The doors opened to a large empty room, with an intricate design on the marble floor. She halted on the stairs, as she saw Draco walk down the steps. 'Wait for me, Draco,' she said. He turned, smiled, and walked on without her. What did that mean?

Next, she saw a procession of her friends, an older Olivia, an older Draco, walking along with Harry, Ron and all her other loved ones, along a peaceful moor, with a wooden pier, and fixed to the pier, was a small rowboat. Where was she? Why was there such discord? Everyone seemed sad and mournful. Draco was no longer walking with the crowd. He stayed behind, standing on a hill, all alone. She wanted to ask him why he was by himself, but when she walked up to him, she saw that his face was streaked with tears.

"Draco?" she asked breathlessly.

She saw him kneel on the cold earth of the hill. She kneeled beside him. He placed his hand on a cold grey stone. She looked along the line of his arm, to the place where he rested his hand. She looked at the stone, and saw her name engraved on the granite. She gasped. It was a grave. She turned her head away, only to turn back. She looked at Draco; he didn't look as if he had aged much, perhaps only a few years. What was the year on the stone? She had to see, but the stone disappeared. She stood from where she kneeled, and looked back at Draco. He too was gone.

She wept from the scene she had just witnessed. She closed her eyes, to open them a few moments later. She was on the boat she had seen tied to the pier, floating alone, in a sea of nothingness, unaided, sad and scared. She picked up an oar, and began to row, but only went in circles.

She felt desperate, and her despair began to choke all the air out of her. She cried, and cried. She finally saw land in the distance, and she saw her mother and her father, standing on the bank. They looked young and beautiful, as if illness and strive had never been introduced to their lives. She was no longer afraid. As the boat moved toward the shore, her mother smiled at her and her father said, "What are you doing here, daughter? It's not your time. Go back. Go back to your life."

Hermione sat bolt upright in the boat, which was now on a sea of green grass. She stepped out of the boat, and walked along a field. She started to cry again. A large entity, what it was, she didn't know, but something walked along beside her. It said, "Crying won't help you, you know. You know what's wrong. You know how to stop this. Let your instincts take you in the right direction. You don't have to die before your time."

The disembodied voice left in a wave of smoke, which blew around her, scattering dust and debris around her feet. She shut her eyes, to keep the dust from blinding her. When she opened them, she was lying on the rock face, behind the waterfall, no longer ignorant of the sights and sounds around her.

She heard not only Draco's voice above the roar of the falls, but also Harry's voice had joined in the choir. She wanted to yell back at them, but a wave of nausea hit her so hard, that she could only turn to her side and let it take its natural course. She lay on her side, struggling for air. She felt Draco touch her shoulder. He lifted her up, cradled her in his arms and said, "What the hell have you done now?"

He walked with her in his arms, back through the falls. Harry was there to meet them. Draco collapsed with her on the rocky embankment. He brushed her wet hair out of her face, and kissed her forehead. "We looked for you for over an hour. Why did you go off on your own?" Draco pleaded with her.

She was still struggling to maintain her breathing. She put a hand on Draco's face. She said, "Draco, I think I need to see a healer."

"Are you hurt?" he asked, as he examined her face and body. He kissed her cut hand. She wasn't hurt, but she knew that there was something wrong. Even if she had not had the awful vision in the waterfall, she knew it was true.

Harry came to sit beside them. She would say no more about it now. There was no reason to worry them all. She shook her head and said, "No, I'm fine."

**Before Dinner:**

Draco walked in their room from the bathroom, while Hermione was sitting at the dressing table. She had been unusually quiet since her trek in the forest. She was putting on her earrings, as he came up behind her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. She stared at his reflection but didn't even smile at him. He put one hand on her neck, and leaned down and kissed her a second time, this time on her temple, near her hairline. He shared the mirror with her as he put on his tie.

The events revealed earlier, whether they were real or not, came crashing down on her as she sat at the dressing table. What did it mean? Was she ill? Was she going to die? Or was it like the time she was lost in the Malfoy dungeon, locked in the 'room of reflections', which fed on a person's fears, and showed the fears as truths.

However, what if this was real? Would she die and leave her daughter too soon, just as her parents left her too soon? Draco continued to stare at her, and she wasn't even aware. He turned her around, put his hands on her shoulders and said, "What is wrong with you, Granger?"

She dropped the earring, which she had been toying with for five minutes, so she bent down to pick it up. "Nothing's wrong," she answered, even though it was a lie. She finished with her earrings and stood up. "Let's go." She decided she wasn't going to ruin the precious little time she had with her daughter talking about something that probably wasn't even real. She and Draco walked out of the Inn, and started to cross the street, when she stopped on the sidewalk. He continued to walk. He turned and looked at her. He took three steps back and grabbed her hand. He held it tight, looked at her funny, and before she knew it, he was leading her back toward the Inn. They started up the stairs, she as his captive, passing the Potters on the stairs.

"The restaurants that way," Harry said, pointing toward the door. Hermione looked at him apologetically.

Draco said, "Go meet the kids, we have a little problem to take care of and we'll be there shortly."

He pushed her in her room and she said, "Great, Draco, now Harry and Ginny will think that we came back for sex or something.

He pushed her to sit on the bed and said, "Spill it. What happened in that damn forest?"

"We can talk about it tonight," she said, standing up. He pushed her back down. "There's no need to get abusive." She smiled to keep the mood light.

He came and sat beside her. He held her hand and said, "What happened today?" He was quick to add, "And if you say nothing, I swear I'll take out your heart and stomp it in the ground."

She frowned and said, "Let me amend my earlier statement. Not only is there no reason to get abusive, but there's no reason to be morbid either." She stood back up and said, "I'll tell you after dinner." He took out his wand. "Oh my gosh, Draco, put your damn wand away. We both know when it comes to wands that you pale in comparison to me."

He had a bad feeling. He put his wand away and said, "Please, tell me now. I can't sit through dinner knowing how upset you are."

She knew he was right, and she had to tell him sometime. "I don't want to waste time here while I could be with my daughter, so I'm going to give you the abridge version." She proceeded to tell him what she saw today. She glossed over nothing. She explained everything she saw, just very quickly.

He was worried for her, but he could tell she was as well, so he decided to make a joke. "Gee, is that all. That means nothing. Did you ever think that maybe you were just crazy? My vote goes for that. Now, here's what we shall do. We'll go to dinner, and then instead of spending the night at the Inn, we'll go back tonight and have our personal healer see you as soon as we get home, no matter the time."

"But I was looking forward to spending the night with Livy," she said.

"Potter and She-Weasel can just have her stay the night here with them and little Potter, okay? We'll come back in a few weeks and see her again," he decided. He knew the fact that she didn't automatically disagree with him meant that she was worried also.

She thought that sounded like a good idea. She nodded. He drew her in his arms, and with his cheek against hers he said, "Do you seriously think I would let you die on me, anyway? I have to die first, I told you that a long time ago." He kissed her lips gently.

"Draw you wand on me again, and I'll guarantee it," she said with a smile.

**Dinner, a quiet affair:**

When they sat down at the restaurant, Harry said, "We ordered for you, we didn't know how long you would be." He looked at Hermione, who had a fake smile plastered on her face, and then to Draco, who had a scowl plastered on his. He knew something was wrong.

James started to tell a story as dinner arrived, about Olivia 'blowing up' the potion lab. Hermione looked shocked, Draco looked proud, and Harry looked surprised. James said, "It was so great, the whole place filled with smoke, and the professor ran out of the room before any of the kids, and everyone was panicked, and Livy here takes her wand, clears out all the smoke, and tells everyone to come back in the room!"

Olivia said, "Well, it's the least I could do, since I caused the explosion in the first place. I really though I knew more than the professor, so when he said it would cause an explosion, I just had to see for myself, because I didn't think it would."

"Just like your mother, she was always a know-it-all, too," Draco explained.

"I was going to say she was just like George and Fred," Ginny laughed. "No wonder George always calls you his other twin."

Harry inquired, "Did the professor know you did it?"

Olivia blushed and said, "He might have blamed someone else."

James said, "Aren't you proud of her?"

Draco said, "Now she sounds like Potter. He was always getting in trouble, and other people always got blamed."

James said, "Dad said he always got in trouble in school."

"He lied," Draco said. "Your Uncle Ron, your godmother, and your father did all sorts of things, and never got in any trouble at all, because he had the headmaster wrapped around his little finger."

"I seem to remember getting in trouble with Snape a lot," Harry laughed.

Olivia leaned over to her mum and said, "Did you get caught a lot, Mum?"

Hermione wasn't paying attention to the conversation. She was looking at her plate instead, lost in thought. When she heard her daughter's voice, she looked up and asked, "What?"

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked.

"Slight headache, that's all, love," Hermione said.

She leaned over to her mother and said in hushed tones, "Uncle Harry said you got lost in the forest today. Did something happen?"

"No, sweetie, nothing happened, but would you mind if Dad and I went back tonight? You could still stay in town with Harry and Ginny and James." Harry looked over at her as she said that. Hermione looked up at Harry and asked, "Would that be okay?"

Harry said, "Sure, we can put up with her for one night. Okay by you, James?"

"If we must," he laughed.

**After dinner:**

Up in the Potter's room, the kids were talking about the dance that was for fourth years and above, taking place tonight, for Halloween. Hermione entered the room and said, "Are you upset you can't go?"

"No," Olivia said. "James and I would rather be here with all of you."

"Plus, we can't go anyway, since we're too young," James added.

Draco walked in and said, "That's his not so subtle way of saying we are a close second."

"Oh, by the way, Draco," Hermione said, "do you have our bags packed?"

"Yes, master," Draco said, sitting down in a chair by the fireplace.

Hermione walked over to the window, looked out at the pink hued sky, and said, "Day falls, a great easing spreads in the poor spirits weary from the day's labour, and their thoughts now take the tender and indecisive colours of twilight." She turned and looked at the room. "What is that from, does anyone remember?" Everyone shrugged or said they didn't know.

She turned to Draco. He said, "The Flowers of Evil, by Charles Baudelaire." Everyone looked at him in shock as his wife smiled. He said, "What? I'm more than just a pretty face. I'm smart, too."

"Yes you are, sweetheart," Hermione said as she sat on his lap. "Well, anyway, afternoon has turned to twilight, and so we should leave soon, I hate to say." She called Olivia over to them, and she sat on Draco's other knee. Hermione said, "I'm so sorry about the change in plans."

"That's okay, but please write to me and tell me what the healer says," Olivia said. Draco looked upset.

"I thought we weren't going to tell her," he said.

"When did we have that conversation?" Hermione asked. "Besides I tell her everything, well, not everything, but most things," she amended. She told Olivia about her vision in the forest after they ate dinner.

Draco pushed them both off his lap. He went to look out the window. Harry walked over to the window and asked Draco, "Why is she seeing a healer?"

Draco quietly gave Potter a quick synopses of what happened in the forest. Harry turned to the room and said, "Change of plans, everyone. We're all going back early. You kids will just have to spend the night in your dorms. We'll walk you back to school."

"Why, Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry just shook his head. He would tell her later. If Hermione was so nervous that she would go back early instead of stay here with her daughter, he would go back as well. She was his best friend.

They started their walk back to the castle. The autumn evening was cold and wet. Hermione put her arms around her to stave off the cold.

On the walk Olivia said, "If I blow up any more classrooms, I'll owl you guys right away, okay?" She laughed and James pushed her, and she fell over.

"See, he's physically abusive, too," Draco said.

"Help her up, James!" Ginny said in her best impression of Molly Weasley. James bent down and helped Olivia to stand.

"I'm sad we won't be spending the night together, Liv," James said.

Draco gave James a funny look and said, "You were never going to spend the night with her young man, and if I have any say in the matter, you never will."

"But Malfoy, they spend the night together every night in Gryffindor tower," Harry reminded him.

Draco looked at Hermione and said, "Separate towers, right?"

"Yes, the boy's tower and the girl's tower," Hermione said, linking her hand in his arm.

"And it's like Slytherin," he assumed, "boys can't go in the girl's dorms, right?" Draco asked.

Hermione laughed and said, "That's right, Malfoy." He smiled. She said, "But the girls can go in the boy's rooms. I used to go in Harry and Ron's room all the time." Draco frowned.

Olivia, who was ahead of them, turned around and said, "Yes, I go in James' room all the time, too." She saw her father's stern stare and amended with, "To study. I go to his room to study."

She turned back around and James took her hand. Draco called out, "Hey, Potter, it's not that dark. I can see you! Let go of her hand."

Harry, who was holding his wife's hand behind them, called out, "Why can't I hold my wife's hand?"

"No, Pothead, I'm telling your boy to keep his hands to himself," Draco said, turning to look at Harry and Ginny. "He's a randy little bugger," Draco said to Hermione.

"He's holding her hand, Draco," she pointed out.

"Exactly," he said.

Harry walked up and took Hermione's hand from Draco's arm. "They're friends, Malfoy. Like Hermione and I. We used to hold hands and hug all the time, it doesn't mean anything," he said and he swung Hermione's arm as he held her hand in his.

"Did you and my mum ever kiss, Uncle Harry?" Olivia asked running back to them.

"Yuck, don't give me that mental picture!" Draco said with a look of disgust on his face.

"No, I kissed Ron, but not Harry," Hermione said.

Draco put his hands over his ears and said, "Please, you promised me years ago never to mention that!" Hermione laughed.

Olivia took Harry's other hand and asked, "Why didn't you and Mum ever date?"

Ginny said, "Be glad they didn't, or James would be your brother."

"Shut up!" Draco said.

Hermione said, "In school, I only had eyes for one other person besides Ron."

"Who, Daddy?" Olivia asked.

"No, we hated each other," Draco answered for his wife. He turned to her and said, "Who did you like besides the redheaded vermin?"

"Viktor Krum," Hermione said.

James came running up to them and said, "The international Quidditch star? Did you date him?"

"Yes, I did," she smiled.

"Wow," James said.

"You impressed him," Harry whispered in her ear.

"But, he was just a crush. I loved Ron," Hermione said.

"Loved?" Olivia asked. "You never told me that."

"She was ashamed," Draco spat.

"Shut up," Hermione snapped back.

"You're both so mature," Ginny responded, talking to Draco and Hermione. Ginny took Olivia's hand and said, "See, you mum loved her best friend, like you love yours, so what does that tell you?"

"That we're just alike?" Olivia asked back. She always liked to be compared to her mother.

Draco took Olivia by her shoulders and stopped walking. He said, "I think what Ginny is trying to say is that it means you'll soon forget this little chap, and will someday fall in love with your worst enemy, like your mum did."

James pointed at her and said, "HA! Liv! That means you'll marry Millicent Goyle someday, because she's your worst enemy."

"Are her parents, by any chance Millicent Bulstrode and Gregory Goyle?" Harry asked, laughing.

"Yes, and I hate that fat turd!" Olivia said.

"Too bad, your dad says you're going to marry her someday," James teased.

"First, I'm not gay, second, I'm not stupid," Olivia said.

Draco said, "That's fine, you would have ugly children with her anyway."

"I don't think we could have children together, Dad," Olivia laughed. "Mum needs to have the talk with you, doesn't she?" Everyone laughed.

"Alright, enough inappropriate talk, here we are, and I need to kiss my daughter goodbye," Hermione said as they reached the gates of Hogwarts. Olivia gave her dad a kiss and then she hugged and kissed her mother.

"I love you, Mummy. Please, let me know what's going on, tonight, please."

"I will, don't worry, love," Hermione said.

After everyone told the children goodbye, the adults started walking back toward Hogsmeade. Hermione said, "I'm glad they have each other. James is Livy's yin to her yang."

"Her salt to her pepper," Ginny said.

"Her bird to her bee?" Harry asked.

Draco said, "No sex talk, Potter." He took his wife's hand and said, "Am I your yin to your yang?"

"Always," Hermione said, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm around his middle.

"Shall I carry you?" he asked.

"Do you think you could?" she challenged with a laugh.

"Hey, Potter, put your wife on your back, and I'll put mine on my back, and let's see who gets to the Inn first," Draco said. Hermione gave him a funny look and he said, "We might as well make a competition out of it, and I know I'm stronger than him." He leaned down and she climbed on his back, thankful for the reprieve from the walk. That was his real goal, anyway. He knew that she was tired.

**Back from Hogwarts:**

As soon as they reached their house, Draco called their healer, even though it was after nine o'clock at night. The healer told them to meet him at St. Mungos. Harry and Ginny went as well.

After hours of testing, the healer came into her exam room with a smile. "Hermione, everything checks out, except you're a bit anemic. You need more iron. That's my prescription. Some iron and some rest, and you'll be right as rain."

Hermione smiled. She insisted on writing to Olivia right away.

Later that night at home, Draco walked into their bedroom, and he pushed her old, fat, ginger cat off the bed, and picked up his small, gray, tabby cat and placed it on the bed. He sat down and picked up a book. Hermione was on her side, already asleep. He looked down at her. He was so glad that everything checked out, because he wasn't joking earlier when he said he couldn't live without her. He couldn't, and he wouldn't. He put his hand on her arm, and she felt cold. He stood up and went to find another cover. He placed the blanket over her, leaned down, and kissed her head.

"I love you, Granger. I really do. I'm glad you hated me in school, and that you love me now." He kissed her once more, climbed into bed, put his book on the bedside table, and turned out the light. He pulled her to his body, and placed his arms around her. She was his yang.


	3. Day Three, Year Three

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Day Three, December 25, Year Three:**

* * *

**12:02 am****: Right after ****midnight****:****  
**

"Goodbye everyone, see you tomorrow!" Hermione yelled toward the Potters as they left the Malfoy's house. She shut the door and walked toward the living room. She said, "That was a wonderful Christmas Eve, wasn't it. Let me see your bracelet again, Livy." Olivia stood up and held out her wrist to her mother. James had gotten her a beautiful diamond bracelet. "It's beautiful," her mother told her, "but a bit extravagant for a 14 year old, I dare say."

"I won't wear it all the time," Olivia said. "Now I feel bad that all I got him was telescope." She sat back down on the end of the couch, picked up a book, and began to read.

Draco, who was on the other end of the couch, said, "I'd like to know how the little bugger could afford it."

Hermione said, "Watch the language, Malfoy, and you know that Harry's fortune rivals your own."

"Yes, Potter senior. How did Potter junior afford it?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Forget about that, are you coming up to bed soon?" Draco and his daughter both looked settled on the couch, both with books in their hands.

"To which one of us are you speaking?" Olivia asked, looking up from her book.

"Either or," she answered flippantly. "It's just, I need you both to go to bed, because I still have some presents to wrap."

"Wrap them upstairs, in the guestroom, like you did the others," Draco said.

"I have other things to take care of too, for tomorrow, or shall I say, today, is a big day," she whined.

"I'll be up shortly," Draco and Olivia both said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. Hermione stared at them both and then left the room.

"They won't even go to bed for me. So much for a Happy Christmas," she said leaving the room.

Draco called out, "What more could you possibly have to do?"

She walked back toward the room and said, "A lot, Draco. Christmas doesn't just magically happen, even for wizards, and I'm very tired. It's been so busy at work lately, and I want to get some sleep," she said. "I am so tired," she repeated.

"Go to sleep, then," he said.

She sighed and started upstairs. Olivia looked at her father and said, "You really are mean sometimes."

"That's no way to talk to your father," he said, closing his book.

"Well, that's no way to talk to my mother," she said. She slammed her book down and followed her mother upstairs.

"They are just alike, all about emotional blackmail," Draco said. He turned off the Christmas tree lights, put out the fire in the chimney, locked up the doors, and walked upstairs.

Hermione was sitting on the bed in one of the guestrooms wrapping presents. Olivia stuck her head in and said, "You aren't done wrapping presents yet? You're usually done before now."

"I know, but work really has been crazy lately. Unlike your father, the procrastinator, at least I have all my shopping done. I doubt that he has even bought me anything yet," she said.

Draco stood behind Olivia in the doorway and said, "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here."

"I didn't know you were there, but I'll talk about you if I so please," Hermione retorted. She reached for the bows, and Olivia got there first. She told her, "Hand me a red bow," and Olivia did as requested.

Olivia sat on the end of the bed and said, "What did you get me?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." Hermione smiled.

Draco sat on the other side of the bed, and kicked off the bows and ribbons and wrapping paper, much to his wife's dismay. He said, "She probably made a pro/con list on what to buy each person. If you look around here, you'll probably find it."

"Just for that, Malfoy, I won't even wrap yours," she said, as she bent down to the floor and held up a large box.

"Here, I'll wrap Daddy's present," Olivia said. Hermione gladly let her, as she leaned against the headboard and shut her tired eyes.

She said to Olivia, "I knew I loved you the most."

Draco tickled her ribs and she hit his hand. He said, "You should love me the most, I'm your husband."

"Well, I love her most, and you the second most," she smiled. He couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.

"I will say it again, love her if you must, but I'm your husband," he smiled.

"Yes, and she's my flesh and blood, my only child, my reason for living," she said, smiling at her daughter.

As Olivia put a bow on her dad's present, she said, "So there."

"What am I?" Draco asked, amused by the whole conversation.

"You are my soul mate, my lover, my friend, and the bane of my existence," Hermione said, "So you are definitely a close second.

Draco got up and said, "If you don't love me, then I don't love you." He left the room.

"He's so funny," Olivia said.

"Do you want to wrap your own present?" Hermione asked. "It would help me out a bit, and it's in a box, so you won't see it."

"Sure, where is it?" she asked her mother.

"Under the bed."

Olivia reached under the bed and started to wrap the present.

"How has school been?" Hermione asked.

"Busy, not as busy as your third year, what with the time turner, Dementors, and a serial killer-slash-godfather chasing you, but still, busy," Olivia joked. She then asked, "What did you get Dad?" She finished her own present and put it on the floor.

"What do you get a man who has everything, and more money than anything else?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, what?" she asked.

Hermione leaned forward and said, "Shut the door." Olivia went and shut the door. Hermione said, "I got him a wishbone. I know that doesn't sound very impressive, but it's very old, from a magical beast which is longer in existence, and it has refuted magical properties, that actually gives the holder one magical wish. Charlie Weasley got it for me the last time he was in Germany. Short of staving off death, it's supposed to give the bearer any wish their heart desires, but only one wish."

"That's great," Olivia said. "How much did you have to pay for it?"

"More than I should have so don't ask, and I used my own money, not Daddy's, as I always do when I buy presents for him. It really put a pinch in my budget," she stated.

"What did you get me?" Olivia asked again, trying to be sly.

"Nice try, you are your father's daughter, and with that said, I won't tell you, so go to bed. Thanks for helping me." Olivia smiled, and kissed her mother's cheek goodnight.

"I'll run these presents downstairs," Olivia said, "and then get to bed. I love you, Mum." Olivia started out of the room with the presents she just wrapped and turned back around and said, "I have something else for James for tomorrow, but I don't know if I should give it to him or not."

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

Olivia sat back down on the bed and said, "It's a picture album. I've been taking pictures all year, and I added some from the last two years. It's a record of our time at Hogwarts so far, and I left room for the next four years, but maybe it's too sentimental."

Hermione remembered Hagrid giving Harry a very similar gift, and how it was one of Harry's most prized possessions. She said, "I think that sounds sweet. I'm sure he'll love it. He likes sentimental things, just as his dad did. Of course, Harry grew up with so little, so things like that were important and precious to him. James has a good heart, though, so he'll appreciate it."

"I hope so. I love that he got me something so expensive," she laughed.

"Like I said, just as he is Harry's son, you are Draco's daughter. Go to bed," Hermione said. She fell back on the pillows and shut her eyes.

"I may be Draco's daughter, but I look like you," she said. She loved that she looked like her mother.

Hermione opened her eyes and said, "There was some thought from your father that you looked a bit like Blaise or Uncle Harry." They both laughed.

"I have his grey eyes, like Dad's, which are rare," Olivia said.

Just then, Draco came back in the room and said, "Oh, I don't doubt your parentage any longer. The DNA test came back and showed you exclusively belong to me." He threw a small package from his pocket, already wrapped on the bed. "Take that downstairs with the other presents, will you? It's for you."

"Heaven help me if I'm really yours," Olivia said. Draco gave her a frustrated look and she added, "I was joking. Don't fall asleep in here, Mum," Olivia reprimanded. Hermione's eyes were indeed closed, and she really did look close to sleep. Draco ran after Olivia and leaned over the railing. She ran downstairs with the presents. He waited for her. On her way back upstairs, she passed her dad on the landing. "Happy Christmas, Daddy. I love you," and she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Olivia, I love you, too." Draco continued downstairs, now that his wife and daughter were safely tucked in upstairs. His wife was right about one thing. He was a procrastinator, and he did wait until the last moment to get her a present. The fact was it wasn't even there yet. It was set to arrive around 12:30 pm. He waited by the extinguished fireplace, for its delivery.

**1:00 am****: ****  
**

Around one in the morning, Hermione's present safely under the tree, Draco went up to their room. She wasn't there. He went back to the guestroom, where he found her asleep on top of the bed. He walked in, shut the door, and picked up a ribbon from the floor. He put it on top of her head, which woke her. "You're my Christmas present, Granger." He kissed her forehead, and climbed over her body, to lie beside her. "Since the kid finally went to bed, may I unwrap you?" he asked.

"I'm too tired, and I worked hard today, and will work harder tomorrow, so no," Hermione answered.

"I hate to break it to you, but today is tomorrow," Draco laughed. He put his hand on her chest, over her heart, and watched it as it went up and down with each breath she took. He leaned over and kissed her neck. "You could be my early present."

"This is the guestroom," Hermione said.

"So? I recall doing it in here before. Anyway, we have a guest with us tonight," he said. He unzipped his pants and there was a gold ribbon wrapped around his penis.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're so stupid!"

"Hey, don't call little Draco names, he's a sensitive chap, and he might be uninvited, but now that he's here, we should make him feel welcome," Draco said.

Hermione couldn't contain her giggles and she threw a pillow over his lap. She sat up beside him and said, "When did you do that?"

"A bit ago. Don't you want to unwrap your present?" he asked.

"I don't think I want my present," she yawned, "It looks used." She laughed again, harder.

"It's been used and abused, but it's like brand new," he boasted. He removed the pillow.

"Oh, put it away!" She closed her eyes. He moved to push her back down, and rested on top of her. He took the ribbon off and threw it on the ground.

"Fine, but he's missed you," Draco said, cupping a breast with one hand, and kissing her up her jaw line. "Haven't you missed him?"

"When did your penis become 'a him'?" she asked.

"Better than 'a her'," he said and laughed. He put his head on her chest and said, "And he took on a life of his own the minute you named him."

"I did no such thing!" she said.

"Granger, why are you in denial?" he asked, as he propped up on his elbow, and zipped his zipper. "We were on our second date, I took you to a men's room, and you told me, and I quote, 'don't whip little Draco out in here,' unquote." He took the ribbon off her hair and kissed her lips gently. "I hope you like my real present to you. I really do," he said, apprehensively.

"Little Draco isn't my real present?" she asked slyly. "I rather hoped he was."

"No, your real present is downstairs. Potter just delivered it," Draco said.

"I'm sure I'll love it," she answered. Her hand slid down his face, and she leaned forward and kissed his mouth.

"Do you realize we have made love every single Christmas since we started dating?" he said. "It's tradition." His strong arm came out and wrap around her waist, pulling her toward him.

She smiled and said, "Who am I to break tradition?"

The smell of her skin was intoxicating to him. His nose skimmed down her cheek to her neck, and back up. His hand slid from the top of her shirt to underneath, to touch her skin. He toyed with the button of her slacks, before finally unbuttoning them. His hand reached inside and stroked her over her knickers. She moaned in his mouth as he kissed her lips.

No matter what, he still desired his wife. He always would. He tore his jumper off over his head, and kicked off his shoes and socks. She did the same with her shoes.

She placed her hands on the front of his shirt and began to unbutton the line of buttons. Her hands trembled. He put his hands on hers and said, "It's not exactly the first time, Hermione. Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm cold," she answered honestly. He realized that the room was cold. They didn't heat these back bedrooms, and there was no fire in the fireplace. He pulled down the covers, and covered them both up, not before taking off his own pants and stripping naked. She removed her pants and shirt while under the covers. He started a fire in the fireplace with his wand.

Her emotions began to overwhelm her, just as the holidays had begun to overwhelm her. She put her hands up to her face and started to cry, and she didn't know why.

Her emotions, bear to the world, pierced his heart like a knife, and he pulled her into his arms. He would just hold her for a while, until she stopped crying. "You funny thing, why are you crying?"

"I don't know," she laughed and cried.

"You know, all those times in school, when I used to be mean to you and make you cry, sometimes I wish I could go back and hold you then like I hold you now," he said, sincerely.

She put her hand on his chest, and stroked it up and down. "Yes, make the girls cry and then hold their hands. That always does wonders for their self esteem," she joked.

"I wasn't worthy of you back then, as much as it pains me to say. I might not be worthy enough, now," he said. He ached inside when he thought of these things. He felt as if she was so good, so special, so pristine, and he wasn't worthy of her, in any way, shape, or form.

Her hands went to the back of his neck as he leaned over her again; kissing her with a constant hunger that would never feel full, not as long as he lived. He looked back toward her, and pushed her hair away from her face. His mind wandered to the first time they made love, and how special that was. He smiled, a private smile, and kissed her again, his lips pulling at hers, and finally opening her mouth, and receiving her tongue inside.

As the room began to heat up from the passion they both felt, and the blood rushed from his skin to his groin, Hermione whispered, "I love you more than anything." The words she spoke were the only words he ever wanted to hear, so as his mouth went down to capture hers again, his heart began to race erratically because of how much he wanted her.

She buried her hands in the hair at the nape of his neck, and pulled him down harder on top of her. He put one thigh between her legs, pressing down to feel her heat and warmth.

She started to breathe harder as his lips went from her mouth, to her neck, to both breasts. The sensation of her nipples in his mouth caused her to grind her hips against his. The feeling of her rubbing against his erection brought him to a fevered pitch. His lips skimmed across the planes of her still flat belly, down to the incision where the Muggle doctors had to perform an operation on her, so many years ago. The scar was faint, and almost gone, but he had it memorized. It was his own little tradition to trace it back and forth with his tongue.

Wetness pooled between her legs at the thought of what was to come. He looked up at her once, said, "You are so beautiful," before he buried his head between her legs. She arched her back and put her hands down on his shoulders, squeezing them tightly. The scent of her sex, mixed with his, was about to send them both over the edge, and very soon.

He took his time, parting her folds, spreading her legs out wider, as his tongue went up and down her cleft, and then inside her.

She started to wiggle and moan softly. It was a sound and sensation he would never, ever, tire of, as long as he lived.

He was always so kind and gentle, a giving lover, and even though he was the only lover she had ever had, she never doubted for once that he was the pinnacle of love to her. He slid back up her body, his nose and mouth sliding along her body as he came back to face her, his lower body tucked neatly inside her legs. His mouth met hers as he effortlessly glided into her. He fit her perfectly, but of course.

He drove himself deeper and deeper, not even trying to suppress a groan from leaving his lips. He opened his eyes for a brief moment, and looked at her. She had her eyes closed, but the look on her face, be it passion or something else, was a look he wanted to memorize always.

He started to deepen and quicken his strokes, as he buried his face in her neck. He breathed harder, in and out, as she started to whimper again. With her legs bent, and her arms tight around his back, she pulled him as close as she could get him, and she fought the urge to scream, instead, taking short, shallow breaths, as the ultimate pleasure she could ever experience began to rack her body.

He yelled out her name, and he came, his leg muscles tightening, and his back arched high off her body. As they together reached the culmination of their lovemaking, she arched her hips to bring him just a bit deeper, so that she too came in a burst of bright, white light.

He put his hands in her hair and kissed her slow and lethargically. He kissed her as if he was trying to make a memory. He rolled off her and put his hand on her stomach. Her eyes closed again.

"Happy Christmas, my sweet love. I'll see you in the morning," he said, and he kissed her cheek.

"I'm so tired," she responded, as she did earlier downstairs.

He smiled and pulled her toward him tighter and said the same thing he said earlier, "Well, go to sleep, then."

**8:03 am****: ****  
**

Draco Malfoy woke up in the guestroom and at first he was confused. How did he get in here? Then, he remembered. Oh, yes, his wife and he 'slept' here last night. He chuckled and went to shower.

Hermione Granger-Malfoy was already busy in the kitchen. The house elves did all the cooking, thank goodness, since she was not a whiz in the kitchen. However, she could bake a mean cobbler, at least she thought so, and that was what she was working on when Blaise Zabini 'popped' by to say 'Happy Christmas'.

She felt warm hands wrap around her waist, and a nose skim the sensitive skin of her neck. She felt warm lips gently kiss the same spot on her neck, as a tongue slid out to lick the area swiftly.

"Hello, Blaise," she said happily. She turned slightly in his arm, and patted his cheek.

"Merriest Christmas to you, my one and only love," he said. He sat up on the countertop, next to her bowl of apples, taking a cookie from a tray as a house elf walked by holding the tray above its head. "What are we making?"

"Apple cobbler," she said. She mixed the apples with the sugar and cinnamon, and as he stuck his fingers in the bowl to steal a piece of apple, she hit the back of his hand with her wooden spoon.

"Manners, my love, its Christmas, after all," he winced in fake pain.

"What are your Christmas plans?" she asked, as she put the apple mixture in the glass-baking dish.

"After I see a few friends, I am, of course, coming back here for Christmas dinner," he assured her.

"How is single life these days?" she asked the newly divorced Blaise. He had been married three times now, none of them successful, and none of them resulting in children.

"Wonderful, actually," he said, jumping down from the counter.

She opened the oven to place the dish inside, and she cried out in pain as her arm touched the top heating element. "Oww!" She cried and hurried over to the sink. Draco was entering the dining room when he heard her cry. Blaise turned on the water for her, as Draco ran into the room. He pushed Blaise aside, and took her wrist. He held it under the water a moment longer, and then he took out his wand and he touched it gently to the burn. The pain subsided in no time. He kissed her wrist, then her mouth, and then turned to Blaise.

"Why did you let her get burnt?" Draco scolded.

"Let her? That wasn't my fault!" he said, pointing toward the oven.

"He's right, Draco," Hermione laughed, as she closed the oven door.

Draco sneered and said, "I've told you a million times Blaise, when I'm not around it's your responsibility to take care of my wife and daughter. How hard is that for you to remember?"

Hermione stood by, watching the spectacle that was her husband, and said, "I don't need anyone to take care of me." She huffed out of the room.

Blaise said, "She's right you know, and besides, I took care of the morning kiss for you." He laughed and followed Hermione to the dining room. Draco frowned and followed as well.

"I don't need you to kiss her," Draco leered.

"Too bad, I do it all the time," he said. He looked at Hermione and she shrugged. She liked Blaise, what could she say.

Olivia came running in the dining room and said, "Hello, Blaise, how are you this fine Christmas! Did you get me something good this year? It's snowing!"

"That's a bit random," Blaise said.

Olivia went to the window and said, "James is coming over in a few and we are going sledding!"

"What about opening presents? We always do it after breakfast," Hermione said.

"I mean after that. His family already opened theirs. Uncle Harry is like a big child, James said, and always insists they get up at 6 am. I'll just grab some toast, and then I need to shower and change. See you all in a bit," she said, running around the table. She kissed her father's cheek, hugged her mother, and patted Blaise's head.

"She treats me more like the family dog than her godfather," Blaise said in disgust. "Harry 'Wanker' Potter is second godfather, and he gets to be called 'Uncle Harry', and he's going to probably be her father-in-law someday, and I'm the family pet." He took a big bite of a scone and then threw it down again. "Really, no respect!"

"You earn respect, you don't demand it," Hermione reminded him.

Blaise stood up and said, "I'll be back later. I need to go somewhere where people love and respect me. When I figure out where that might be, I will go there right away. See you later."

**9:17 am**** around the Tree: ****  
**

"Thank you, Dad!" Olivia squealed as she held up a pair of diamond earrings.

"Draco, she's too young for diamond earrings," Hermione said.

Draco ignored his wife and handed her a package. "For you, my lovely wife."

"I thought you gave me my present last night," she joked.

"That was my present." He smiled back to her.

She began to open the rather large package, slowly removing the beautiful ribbon, so not to rip it. She put the ribbon aside. Next, she put her finger under the tape, so she wouldn't tear the wrapping paper. Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Open the damn thing, don't dissect it!"

"You took all the time and effort to wrap this; I want to take my time to unwrap it." She smiled in delight, so he could hardly argue.

"Oh hell, Granger," he said as he pulled the package toward himself and unwrapped it for her.

"Draco!" she shouted at the same time that Olivia yelled, "DAD!"

"There," he said, as he threw the now tattered paper over his shoulder and pushed the box back toward his wife. She removed the top of the box and pulled out what almost looked like a Ferris wheel, but in miniature. It was made of solid platinum, and there were multiple moving wizard pictures hanging from the double wheels. She gave the wheel a turn, and one of the pictures that were hanging from a frame on the wheel appeared overhead, almost life-size. When the wheel stopped spinning, the picture faded. The first picture was of Olivia when she was an infant, taking her first step. Hermione spun the wheel again, and a picture of Hermione and Draco appeared.

As the scene revealed in front of her, and then disappeared, she turned toward her husband and rushed to his arms. "This is wonderful! Where did you get this?"

"I designed it, and George Weasley made it for me. Do you really like it? It also plays music. There's a different song for each photograph. You can change photographs whenever you want, although it actually contains over 500 pictures, and if you wind the lever on the side, it will play the pictures on a wall by itself, plus one of the songs."

"This is the best present, ever!" She hugged him and then she took the 'Ferris wheel' and placed it on a side table.

"Open yours, Dad," Olivia said. She pushed the present from her mother to her father toward him.

He opened it and saw what just looked like an old wishbone. He held it up and said, "Well, here, I guess someone pull on it and make a wish, and maybe my real present will appear."

"NO!" Hermione and Olivia shouted together. He looked shocked and dropped it on the floor. Olivia picked it up and proceeded to tell him how special it was and what it did. He placed it gently back in the box and asked one of the elves to take it upstairs, for safekeeping.

"If we keep it down here, Blaise Zabini is likely to use it to steal my wife from me," he joked. He really thought that, however, so he told the elf to put it in the safe.

"Open yours from me," Hermione told Olivia. She opened the present, and inside was a pearl necklace.

"I get her diamonds, and you get her pearls?" Draco said with false disdain.

"They were my mother's," Hermione told him. She turned to Olivia and said, "I was going to wait until you were married to give them to you, but that's what my mother always said to me also, and well, she didn't live long enough to see me married, so, well, anyway, I didn't want to wait."

"Thanks so much, Mummy, I love them!" Olivia tried them on right away.

Olivia gave her parents each a drawing that she had done. Hermione went ahead and hung them in the study. When she came back, Olivia was heading outside. "James is here now. May I go out sledding?"

"Sure," Hermione answered, as she took her wand and began to clean up the paper and ribbons. Draco started to read his morning paper, and he looked up at her and patted his knee.

Hermione walked over and sat on his lap. "Did you cut out this article?" he asked, pointing to a hole in his paper.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Why?" he asked, folding the paper and kissing her collarbone.

"So you would notice me this morning," she laughed. She said, "Now, let me up, I have things to do, I must get ready for Christmas dinner." She stood up, her hips sashaying back and forth, and the black skirt she had on hugging her curves just right.

He put his hand over his heart and said, "I would have noticed you anyway, Granger, believe me."

**12:22 pm****: **

Sitting on the couch, reading a book, with Blaise Zabini's head in her lap, Hermione started to play with his hair, absentmindedly. He said, "How do you know when you're in love, Hermione?"

She stopped stroking his hair and closed her book. She said, "Please, I can't take another marriage from you."

"I'm not getting married again, just answer the question," he said. He sat up beside her.

"Well, okay, if you're serious, I'll tell you. I think you're in love when you think of that person whether you're with them or not, when you get chills when they touch your skin, when you blush at the thought of kissing them, and when they kiss you and your toes curl. Oh, also, when you laugh and they laugh, you cry and they cry and they comfort you when you're sick, and they hold you when you die."

"Well, hell, that's not a nice thought," he said.

"I mean the whole, 'death do you part stuff', is real, when you're in love," she answered.

"What about the sex?" he asked.

She laughed and said, "You're an idiot. Sex and love have nothing to do with each other, and you, sex god that you are, should know that more than anyone." She curled up on the couch, bringing her feet under her, and turning to face him. "Besides, when you're in love, it's not sex. It's making love. Draco and I have only ever made love. Even the first time, though we had only dated a week, it was making love, not sex."

"How would you know, you've only ever had sex with Draco," Blaise said.

"More reason that I should know the difference, then," she reasoned.

"That makes no sense," he said. "Don't you ever want to have sex with someone besides Malfoy? Aren't you curious?"

There was a time when a conversation like this with Blaise would have caused her to blush, or hit him, or call Draco into the room to throw him out of the house, but throughout the years, she had become accustomed to his weird idiosyncrasies and lewd behaviour. In fact, she would miss it, if he ever started to act like a normal person.

She answered him with a resounding, "No, I've never been curious. I don't want anyone but him. Let me ask you something, wasn't sex with your wives better than sex with say, a common whore off the street?"

"Well, gee Granger, I haven't had sex off the street for a while, so let me think about it, but no, sex is sex," he answered.

Draco walked in on the tail end of the conversation and said, "Sex is better if you're in love, and I don't know what you two are talking about, but it's Christmas, so please keep it to an acceptable level, okay?" He poured himself some eggnog and decided to sit in on their conversation.

"How often do you and Draco have sex?" Blaise asked.

"Okay, time for me to leave," Draco said, standing. He had become used to the weird conversations that Blaise and his wife had, and though they did not threaten him at all, that didn't mean he wanted to be a part of them.

"We have sex two or three times a week," she answered honestly.

"That's all?" he asked.

She laughed. "I think that's pretty good. How often do you have it, you aren't even married?" she proposed.

"No, but I have it more than that," he said. He edged closer to her and said, "Really, he's the only bloke you've ever been with?"

"Yes, idiot," she repeated.

"Have you ever been with a girl?" he asked, with a smile.

"I will call Draco in here in a minute if you keep asking those types of questions," she warned. "Have you ever been with a man?" she suddenly asked, very curious.

"Sure," he answered.

She blushed, hid her face behind her hands, and said, "Please, don't tell me who!"

"Oh, Granger and her virginal ears!" he mocked. He virtually attacked her, putting his whole body on hers and as she put her hands to her ears, he tried to pry them off, and he said, "Come on, you want to know who, you know you do."

Draco walked back in and said, "Can't you two stop it for a moment! I might throw up!"

Hermione was giggling and she said, "Help me, Draco; he's trying to tell me about all his gay escapades!"

Before he could reveal the name, Draco jumped between them and held Hermione's ears.

"She doesn't need to know, you pervert, and neither do I!" He kept his hands on Hermione's ears and actually kicked Blaise off the couch. He and Hermione fell over on top of him. Olivia and James came in the house, sopping wet from sledding, right at that exact moment.

Olivia said, "Hey, look, let's join them!" As Blaise pulled on Hermione's leg to pry her from Draco, Olivia jumped on top of the fray. James stood by, somewhat embarrassed. He didn't really like Blaise Zabini, and he knew his father didn't either, and he wasn't sure why on either account, he just knew he didn't.

"Come on, Liv, we're expected at the Burrow by two o'clock," James said awkwardly. Olivia kneed Blaise's abdomen on purpose, and then stood up.

"Be back by 5:00 pm for dinner," Hermione said, breathing heavy on the floor, with Draco laying on one side of her, and Blaise on the other.

As James and Livy walked upstairs for her to change, James said quietly, "Your family is odd."

"Tell me about it," Olivia laughed.

**2:30 pm****:****  
**

Hermione was watching a holiday video in her bedroom, and Draco was taking a nap. She put her hand on his arm, and said, "Draco, you're missing the best part of the movie."

"Hermione, you watch this blasted movie every single Christmas. You know it by heart, I know it by heart, let me take my nap." He rolled over to his side and shut his eyes.

Feeling slightly put out, she said, "Blaise is still here somewhere, I'll get him to watch it with me," and she started out of the bed.

He pulled on her arm and said, "He's watching porn on your computer thing, leave him alone."

"WHAT! I don't want him to do that!" she said. She scooted off the bed and was at the door when she heard him laughing.

"You are so gullible, Granger. No, he's hooked on that stupid video game Olivia gave him for Christmas, and he's playing that," Draco said, sitting up. "Come back here, Muggle-muffin, you are missing the best part of the movie."

Hermione chortled as she crawled up on the bed and she said, "What the hell did you call me?" She put her arms around his waist, rested her head on his chest, and continued to watch the movie. When the credits started to run, she shut off the television.

"That movie sort of reminds me of our first date," she said.

"It was a nice first date, wasn't it?" he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Do you recall the game we played?" she asked. "Let's play it now."

"Okay, you go first," he said.

"Okay, let me think," she said, stopping for a moment. She sat up on the bed and she said, "I love Christmas, I love Chocolate, and I love cherry pie."

"See, Granger, first, that's a stupid way to start the game, and second, we know each other too well now, so this won't work. Still, truth, truth, lie. My turn." He turned to look at her and he said, "I have slept with you, I have slept with Daphne Greengrass, and I have slept with Blaise Zabini."

She looked angry for a moment, and said, "Truth, truth, and better be a lie!"

"Blaise is very good in bed, I hear," he said. "Now, give me a harder one, and I will give you a harder one next time."

She really thought for a moment and said, "My favourite all time movie is 'Splendor in the Grass', my all time favourite book is 'Jane Eyre', and my all time favourite poet is Thoreau."

He looked perplexed. He said, "That is a hard one. I say, Lie, truth, truth. Am I right?"

"Another point for Malfoy," she smiled.

"That was a hard one, though," he said, giving her credit. He stood up and began to pace around the room. He finally said, "When Olivia was born, I never told you this, but I wouldn't go see her until you woke up."

She sat there for a moment, wondering what he was going to say next. When no other information was forthcoming, she stood as well.

"And?" she asked.

"I'm not playing the game. It's something I never told you before. When Olivia was born, they told me I could go see her, and I refused, so Potter and Blaise went to see her. They saw our daughter before either of us. I didn't want to see her until you did, and I didn't. I mean, I eventually went to see her, but not up close, and I didn't hold her, until we could do it together. Do you hate me?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?" she asked.

"Do you hate me?" he asked again.

"I just think that's something you would have told me fourteen years ago," she added.

"Yes, yes, okay, do you forgive me?" he asked again.

"Of course I do," she said gently. She took his hand and traced the lines on his palm with her hand. "It's sort of sweet, really." She pulled him to the edge of the bed, and sat down. He put his head on her shoulder and she stroked his hair. "Now, my turn," she said.

He brought his face up to look at her, and smiled. She was a wonder, and she was his. She said, "I didn't trust the healer last year when they said I was okay, and I went to a Muggle doctor as well."

He waited for the other two statements, and when they weren't imminent, he said, "Why didn't you tell me. I would have gone with you. That's fine, I don't care, just don't hide things from me again, okay?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that, well, I still had an uneasiness about it. They ran all sorts of test, and pretty much came up with the same thing. I had a bleeding ulcer, so I was anemic, and they put me on some medication, in which I take to this day," she answered.

"Wow, okay, can we get back to the game now? Any more confessions of these sorts, and we may need a marriage counselor," he said.

"Screw this game, let's play that other one. The 'would you rather' game," she said, excited. "I'll start, if you could only have sex with one person for the rest of your life, would it be me or Blaise?" She thought she was hysterical, so she laughed so hard she snorted.

He glared at her with a perfectly straight face and said, "I told you Blaise was very good in bed, so I would have to pick him."

She hit him on the arm with her fist. It actually hurt.

He said, "My turn. If you could only save one person from a burning building, and Olivia, I, Potter, and Crookshanks were there, who would you save?"

"Don't ask questions like that, especially when you won't like the answer," she scolded.

"Hell, Granger, I would expect you to say Olivia. I would say that too, so let's amend it, you can save two people," he said.

"Olivia and Crookshanks. You and Potter would have to save yourselves," she snickered. "My turn, if you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, would it be 'It's a Wonderful Life", or The Marx Brothers, 'Duck Soup'?"

"I do love those Marx brothers," he answered. "Here's your question, if you had a chance, would you have musical ability, or the ability to paint and draw?"

"Ah, you know I am secretly jealous of our daughter's many talents, don't you?" she said. "Well, she's also a wonderful dancer, and you know how graceful I am. Nevertheless, of the two choices you've given me, I would pick, drawing. To be able to relay a story with just a piece of parchment or canvas, and a pencil or paints, well, its awe inspiring, that's what it is."

"You are awe inspiring," he whispered. "Let's make love."

"Speaking of," she pushed him off her, "Blaise claims he makes love more times a week than we do."

"Let's prove him wrong. We have hours until our guests arrive; our children are safely either at the Burrow or playing video games. Come on; take a bath with me on Christmas day."

**3:30 pm****, still in the bath: **

Hermione was leaning against her husband's chest as he washed her arms with a large sponge. "What's your favourite part of being married?" she suddenly asked.

"Moments like this," he said truthfully.

"What one thing do you most regret about our marriage?" she asked.

"I don't regret anything," he said. He knew that was a lie. He didn't regret anything about their marriage, per say, but he did regret many things he had done to her while being married. He was quiet for so long, that she turned in the tub to look at him.

"You don't regret anything during our marriage?" she asked.

"You didn't really ask that, and I would rather not fight. You know I have a lot of regrets." He stood and stepped out of the tub. He toweled off and then put another towel around his waist. She remained in the water, head bent, and eyes downcast.

He came to sit beside the tub. "I regret lying to you about why I originally wanted to marry you. I regret sleeping with someone on the eve of our wedding, even though I was drunk and assumed the wedding was called off, I still regret it. I regret ruining our wedding. I regret causing a schism between you and Potter while you were pregnant, I regret the day that inkwell hit you on the cheek, even though it was an accident, I regret not being there for you when you went into labour. You must have been so afraid and alone."

By this time, she was weeping. He had his hand on her back, moving it in gentle circles, around and around. "I regret every cruel thing I ever said and did to you before we married. However, the one thing I will never regret, ever, my whole life, is falling in love with you. That day, so long ago, in the Ministry, when I heard someone crying, and I went to investigate, I knew if I found out it was you, I would have to stop your crying, and that I would probably fall in love with you."

"I'm sorry, Draco," she said.

He let out a strangled laugh and said, "Why the hell are you sorry? Are you sorry I fell in love with you, or are you sorry for the miserable husband that I've been? You've been a saint compared to me."

"I'm just sorry if I have ever hurt you in anyway. I have another confession, even though we are no longer playing the truth game."

She stood up, and he wrapped her in a towel. She stepped out of the tub, and he wrapped his arms around her. "I sold the store to Mr. Belpre. He's been bothering me to sell for over a year, and this Christmas season was so hard, so two days ago I told him I would sell. I'm going to stay on for a while, and he promised to keep the store the same, the same concept, all my employees, everything."

He wondered why she thought that would upset him. He was pleased. He didn't want to tell her that, so he said, "That's fine, Hermione. Really, that's great, if that's what you want."

"We should get dress; our company will be here soon." She looked up at him and smiled. He hugged her and put his chin on her head. He held her and rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"I love you, Granger."

**5:05 pm****, Christmas Dinner: **

"Everything looks so delicious, Hermione," Harry said, taking his place at one of the ends of the table.

"She didn't cook it," Draco said. Hermione stared at him and then kissed Harry's cheek, as she moved to sit on Draco's right, at the other end. It was tradition for the Potter's, the Malfoy's and the Ron Weasley's to have dinner on Christmas together. They alternated houses, one year it would be at Ron and Lavender's, one year Harry and Ginny's, and one year Draco's and Hermione's. This was the first year that James and Olivia sat at the 'grown-up' table. Olivia was pleased, James, not so much, as he looked over at his brother, sister, and cousins having fun at the other table. Even Blaise sat at that table this year.

After dinner, everyone went into the living room. Hermione insisted that Olivia play Christmas carols on the piano. Everyone sang and laughed, and drank too much, and ate too many sweets. Toward the end of the evening, Harry took Hermione's hand and took her over to the foyer. They sat on the stairs, and he kissed the top of her hand.

"So, have you told Draco about selling the store?" he asked.

"Yes, we confided quite a few things to each other, finally," she regaled. "He told me that you and Blaise were the first ones to ever see Olivia. That he wouldn't see her until I woke up. He told me he had a lot of regrets about our wedding, and he also told me that he and Blaise slept together, but I rather think that one was a joke."

He looked at her oddly and said, "Goodness, I hope so. Did you tell him about going to the Muggle doctors?"

"Well, not so much. I told him I went there last year, but I didn't tell him about my appointment coming up. You are still going with me to that one, aren't you?" she asked.

"Well, of course, but why didn't you tell him?" Harry asked.

"No need to worry him unnecessarily, and really, he's quite fragile sometimes," she said.

He snorted.

"He is, Harry!" she insisted. "Anyway, I was going to, while we were taking a bath, and I even started to, and instead I started to cry, and he looked so sad, and I even told him I was sorry, and then I just couldn't say the words. Why don't we wait until my appointment? There might not be anything to tell him."

"I don't like that, but it's your choice, Hermione," Harry said, taking her hand again and kissing the top of it once more. "I will always be there for you."

Draco stood at the top of the stairs, and looked down at the friends. Even after all these years, a singe of jealously coursed through his veins, and he felt ashamed, but it was what it was. He walked over to the other stairs, and descended them, ending up in the kitchen. Ginny Potter was cutting some cobbler.

"Are you ready for pudding, Draco?" Ginny asked.

"May I ask you something, Ginny?" Draco asked.

He hardly ever called her by her name. He always called her Mrs. Potter, she Potter, little red, the Weaslette, girl weasel, red, or other such name. She put down the pie server and said, "What?"

"Does it ever bother you how close Harry and Hermione are?" he asked, sitting down at the round kitchen table, which the family never used. She took the piece of cobbler she just cut, put it in front of him, cut another for her, poured them some milk, and then joined him at the table, all before answering.

"No, it doesn't bother me."

"How could it not?" he asked, sincerely.

"Draco, they have a connection that is deeper than friendship, more than brother and sister, more than love. More than Ron and Hermione, Ron and Harry, or Ron and I. I don't know when that happened, actually, but it did, and it's what it is. The way they feel for each other is different, and special. They are etched in each others hearts, and unless you come to peace with that, you will be jealous and unhappy all your days, and believe me Draco, life is too short to live with jealousy and unhappiness."

"You never think that they might be in love?" Draco asked.

"They aren't, not like you and she, or he and I. You know that," she said, matter of fact. "You can't live your whole life worried about losing her, or someday you will wake up and she will really be gone. Enjoy what you have in the moment, Draco, and don't try to change what you can't. Those words are my Christmas present to you." She stood up, took her cobbler with her to go to the other room, and leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

"Thanks, Gingersnap," he said.

"Well, that's a new one," she laughed. She walked in the dining room, passing Hermione as she went through the door.

"Was Ginny giving my husband a kiss?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"Yes, I am alarmingly alluring to other humans, what can I say?" he said. He took a big bite of his cobbler and said, "Yum, good."

"Thanks, that's not mine. Ginny made that one, mine was burnt and I fed it to Blaise," she grinned.

"Actually, I thought it was too good to be yours," he admitted. She sat on his lap and opened her mouth. He stuck a bite of cobbler in her mouth.

"Damn, that is good," she said.

"What were you and Potter talking about so intently on the stairs?" he asked.

"What were you and Ginny talking about so intently in the kitchen?" she countered.

"Fine, I thought after this afternoon, our secrets were over with, but if not, I can live with a few," he said.

She put her forehead on his and said, "Me, too."

**11:27 pm, in bed, Christmas Day almost over, all the guests have gone:**

Stroking Draco's cat's ears, and with her cat on her feet, Hermione sat under the covers, reading a book, sucking on a candy cane. Olivia poked her head in her parents' bedroom and said, "Well, I'm off to bed. Thanks again for all my presents. James loved his picture album, by the way, and he gave me a photograph in a frame, which was really sweet, don't you think?" She smiled at her mum.

Draco walked in the room, put his robe across the end of the bed and he said, "I like that James Potter, much better than I like his father."

Hermione frowned but Olivia smiled. She tiptoed in the room and kissed her parents goodnight. She left and shut their door. Hermione put her candy cane and her book down on the bedside table.

Draco slid into bed beside her and said, "Do you mind if we don't have sex, I'm tired."

"I was going to say the same, but I was going to say, do you mind if we don't read tonight, and go straight to bed, for I'm tired," she said.

"Either way, goodnight, love, and Happy, Happy Christmas. I love you." He kissed her nose and turned off his light.

She turned off her light, leaned over him and kissed his lips. She put her head on his chest, her hand over his heart, and said, "I have one more statement from our game earlier. You tell me which is the lie, and which are the truths, okay?"

He yawned and said, "Go for it."

"I really do think Ginny's cobbler is better than mine, I hated my gift from you today, and I had an appointment with my Muggle doctor last week, and he is sending me to a specialist, and my appointment is on January 4th. When I went to my regular doctor, he said I was anemic again, just like last year, and he found that I have some blood in my urine and stool. It could just be an ulcer again, but he wanted me to see a surgeon, so I am. Harry was going to go with me, but I would rather you go. Which of those three statements is the lie?"

Draco held her close. He felt tears brim his eyes, and his chest felt heavy and full. He said, "Truth, lie, truth."


	4. Day Four, Year Four

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Day Four, February 14th, Year Four:**

* * *

**Two Men Sit on a Park Bench:****  
**

"How is Hermione feeling?" Harry asked.

"Surprisingly well," Draco responded. He put his hands in the pocket of his jacket, because old man winter wanted to play, and it was dreadfully cold. "She saw her oncologist today for her three month check up, and he said she's all clear. The scans showed no more cancer, and the spots they thought she had on her lungs are gone."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, pulling up the collar of his jacket to protect himself from the hard, cold wind.

"It means our year from hell is over with, and it means that she's better, she's healed, no more cancer," Draco said with a smile. "She was going to tell everyone tonight at dinner, so act surprised."

Harry could not contain his mirth. He said, "That's music to my ears."

"We've past the year mark, and the doctors call it remission. Hermione calls it a miracle, and I call it about bloody time. I was very doubtful when she went to the Muggle doctors over the healers, but the end result is all that matters," Draco replied.

"Well, the healers at St. Mungos agreed that she was getting the best possible care. Their knowledge of cancer isn't any better than Muggle medicine," Harry reminded him. "So, is everything ready for tonight?"

"Yes, Potter, I told you not to worry. I have it all taken care of, and it will be a night our wives will never forget, fine food, candles, dancing, and the works. Are Weasel and his wife coming?" Draco asked. He stood up to pick a piece of paper off the ground, and placed it in a rubbish bin nearby.

"No, one of the boys is sick. Is Blaise and whoever he's dating really coming?" Harry asked with malice. He had never liked Blaise much.

"Apparently so, though I wish I hadn't told him. Sometimes he is a bit too touchy-feely with my wife. A more secure man would be fine with it, but it bothers me sometimes," Draco admitted.

"Hermione would never cheat on you," Harry scolded.

"It's not her I'm worried about," Draco grinned, "but you're right, there's nothing to worry about, because Hermione would never do anything with him. She's touchy-feely with all of her male friends, and if she had any female friends, she probably would be with them, too."

Harry had to laugh. "How long has Blaise dated this witch?"

"He's dated the chit for two whole weeks," Draco confessed.

"Wow, a new record," he responded. "By the way, did Olivia tell you and Hermione that she and James are going to the Valentine's Dance tonight?"

"Yes, Olivia told us. She says she's been very busy this year, but I don't seem to recall Fourth year being that busy, do you?" Draco asked.

"Let's see, fourth year, wasn't that the year I competed in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a fake Mad Eye Moody tried to kill me, and oh, yes, the Dark Lord reappeared? No, fourth year was a breeze," Harry said with a grin.

"Fine, every year in your life was racked with drama and controversy. My fourth year was a piece of cake, except for a little ferret incident, all I had to worry about was the Yule ball," Draco commented.

"Oh, yes, the Yule ball, that was a horror, too," Harry said, "What with all the dancing and intrigue, and fighting between my friends."

"I remember it as nice," Draco said. "My wife was the prettiest girl there that night, do you recall?"

Harry had to smile. "I recall, but you two weren't exactly friends back then, so do you really recall what she looked like?

"Sure I do, she was beautiful," Draco remarked. "I remember remarking that Krum was a lucky man, lucky man."

"She's still beautiful," Harry said. He added, "I bet Olivia will look pretty tonight. I told James to order some pictures for us."

"He's a good kid. Must take after his mother," Draco said.

"As does Olivia," Harry replied.

"Looks like they are pretty serious about each other," Draco said. He stood to start walking. Harry stood also, and the two men started out of the park.

"They've always been serious, since they were in nappies. He's loved her forever, and I for one couldn't be happier, because I love her like she's my own, you know," Harry said truthfully.

Draco looked over at Harry and said, "He loves her?"

"Of course he does, and she loves him," Harry said.

"Do I need to have 'the talk' with him?" Draco asked, suddenly serious.

Harry stopped walking, which made Draco turn around. "I had the sex talk with him when he was twelve, Malfoy," Harry said appalled.

"One minute, Potter," Draco said, now at a complete stop, "I meant the 'anti-sex talk'. The 'I'm her father and if you touch my little girl I will hex your balls off' talk!"

"Gracious, Malfoy, I've already had that talk with him, too! He would never hurt her, I promise you that," Harry said.

As the two men left the park, and started down the busy sidewalk, Draco said, "Looks like we are stuck with each other forever, now."

Harry said, "Well, we would have been anyway, since you are married to a girl I love like a sister." He walked along for a moment and then reminded Draco, "We'll share grandchildren someday, making us real family. How do you like that Malfoy? Can you imagine what your father would have said?"

"No, and I can't imagine sharing grandchildren with you! How can I compete against a grandfather who is the hero of our world?" Draco asked.

"You'll find a way, and I'm sure it will involve lots of money," Harry laughed.

"Without a doubt," Draco agreed. "Well, see you tonight, Potter."

"See you tonight, Grandpa," Harry smiled back.

As Harry walked away, Draco shouted, "You better not have a reason to call me that for at least another 15 years, or little Potter will lose his little Potter!"

Harry turned around, flashed an obscene gesture, and then waved. "Bye, Draco!"

"Later, Harry."

**Two Women in a Department Store:****  
**

"This dress is ugly!" Ginny exclaimed as she tried on another dress. She had tried on seven so far, and found something wrong with each one. Hermione found a dress the first time she tried one. It was turquoise and black, v-neck, high waist, mid sleeves, flowing and very pretty. "Let me have your dress, I liked it," Ginny complained.

"No, but we will find you one," Hermione said. She took the dresses from Ginny, hung them on the rack outside the dressing room, and went to look for a few more. She saw Blaise Zabini and a beautiful blonde woman in the jewelry department. The dark handsome man waved at her, said something to the woman, and then walked over to her.

"What are you doing, shopping for tonight?" Blaise asked, before kissing her cheek.

"Yes, we found me something at the first store. This is the third store, and Ginny is having a hard time finding something."

Blaise looked through the rack Hermione was in front of, and pulled out a blue dress. It was very pretty. He handed it to her and said, "This one would look good on her."

Hermione smiled, looked at the size, which was exactly her size and said, "You're a wonder, Blaise. Is that the girl who's coming tonight?"

"Supposedly," he answered cryptically.

"What does that mean?" she asked. He shrugged. She said, "Are you going to introduce us?"

"Not planning on it, no," he said. He took her hand and said, "I might stop by and see you this afternoon."

"Not too late, because I need plenty of time to get ready," she said. She started to leave when he reached out to touch her arm, and turned her back around.

"By the way, I hear congratulations are in order," he said, with a wide smile, "good news, all around."

"Draco told you?" she asked.

"Yes, I saw him just a while ago," Blaise said.

"We were supposed to tell everyone tonight," she said, "but, I don't mind you knowing early."

"I'm happy for you, darling," he said. He brought her into a strong embrace, and kissed her hair. "I am so happy."

She pushed away, said thank you, and took the blue dress to Ginny, who was standing by the dressing room door.

"Was that Blaise and his girlfriend?" Ginny asked, as Hermione ushered her back in the room.

"Yes, but he wouldn't introduce her, though I dare say he will have to tonight at dinner," Hermione answered. She held up the blue dress and Ginny grabbed it from her.

"Oh, I love it! You have the best taste!" Ginny said, rushing back in the dressing room to try it on. Hermione didn't tell her she didn't pick it out, but she would if Ginny decided to buy it.

She didn't, and finally, four dresses later, she picked out a plain black dress, and the two women went to have some coffee. Hermione said, "I can't hold this in any longer, I have to tell you something!"

"Oh, if it's about your doctor visit, I already know!" Ginny said, jumping up and down in her seat. "I've been waiting to see when you would bring it up! I'm so very happy for you!"

Hermione said, "How did you know?"

"Harry called me, while I was trying on dresses," Ginny said.

"How does he know?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Draco told him this morning, when they went to the park for their Saturday walk," Ginny said, taking a drink of coffee.

When Hermione was first diagnosed with Kidney Cancer in January of last year, Draco and Harry's tentative relationship became a sort of awkward friendship, which in turn, turned into a true, strong, friendship. Thus, the Saturday morning walks began. The few weeks after her surgery, and the partial removal of her right kidney, called a partial nephrectomy, Draco had to rely on Harry out of necessity.

Draco was at a loss on what to do. He was transported back all those years ago to when she almost died after Olivia was born. Harry was the strong one back then, and took care of everything. Draco was ready to relinquish the reigns to him this time, but instead, Harry let Draco keep control, and offered him a shoulder to lean on, instead of taking over complete control.

She spent five days in the hospital. She went to a Muggle hospital, and they removed her tumor with an incision in her abdomen, instead of going in from the back, because they wanted to make sure the cancer hadn't spread. It hadn't, thank goodness. After a six-week recovery from her surgery, she started with her Chemotherapy.

She knew chemotherapy was different for all people, and for her, it really was not that bad. She had some bad nights. The nights were the worse. Sometimes she would lay awake, sweating all night, nauseated, and with terrible leg cramps. She would run high fevers at night, also. It became a little ritual that one of their friends would spend the night with them, in case Draco or Hermione either one needed them.

Her therapy was a couple of hours, one day a week. The day of, she felt fine, if not a little apprehensive and scared. The day after, she felt damn good. The next day, she felt like death warmed over. She would remain sick for a couple more days, then for the most part, she was back to normal, and it was life as usual.

She didn't lose her hair, although it thinned a bit, which looked good on her. She lost a lot of weight, which she was ill prepared to lose, as she was never heavy to start with. Her eating habits changed. Nothing tasted good to her, so mostly she would eat crackers, cereal, and drink milkshakes.

She had ultrasounds and CT-scans every month. After four months, they thought she had a couple of spots on her right lung, in the upper lobe. She had to endure a rather unpleasant scope of her lung, and an MRI. They watched the spots for a while, and she had some radiation therapy.

Chemo was hard, radiation was hell, and after four cycles, she could endure no more. Her skin became red, almost sunburn. She had sores in her mouth. She felt worse than sick. She was about to tell them that it wasn't worth it, when the scans showed the spots had gone.

Chemo was over, radiation was complete, and she was just seeing her doctor every other month. Now, a year after her surgery, she was given a clean bill of health. Her type of cancer had a high likelihood of recurrence, so that was why they only removed a part of her kidney. The doctor said if they removed too much, or the whole kidney, and then it came back to either kidney, they would be in a boat without an oar, (his stupid analogy, not hers.) She didn't have to come back for another six months, and he told her if her ultrasound was clear at that time, then she could start coming just once a year.

Hermione was afraid to hope for the best, so she continued to be optimistic, but guarded. Draco was over the moon. Hermione had to admit, she couldn't have asked for a better husband while she was ill. No one could have been better to her than he was. He had been her rock. The day she told him was the worse day of her life.

He had escorted her for her consult with the specialist. They did another ultrasound, and compared that with the CT scan she had already had done. His office told them they would call them the next day with the results.

Instead, her doctor called her personally that night on the phone. She was all alone because Draco had gone out to a Quidditch game with Blaise. The doctor told her over the phone. His exact words were, "I'm so sorry Hermione, but I am 100 percent certain we are dealing with cancer here. You could come in to Hospital, and have a biopsy, but the thing is, you would have to have surgery anyway, so I say, let us just go in and get this thing removed. You are too young to have to worry about this. My nurse will call you tomorrow with the details."

She had cancer, and was told about it on the phone.

She sat on the stairs and cried for twenty minutes. Even though she had been afraid of something like this, until her doctor said it aloud, in person, (or in her case, over the phone) it wasn't real. Now, it was real, and she didn't know what it meant. What type of cancer? She wanted to look it up on the internet. What was the survival rate? Would she need chemotherapy? Was she going to die? She was not even yet forty years old. She was too young to die. What about her daughter. Who would take care of her daughter?

And Draco? How was she going to tell him?

She immediately called Harry on the phone. In hindsight, she realized it was wrong to tell him before she told Draco, but she needed someone there with her at that moment, and she wasn't sure how long Draco would be gone. She called Harry's phone. He answered on the third ring.

He wasn't expecting bad news from her, so he answered with a chipper, "Hello, Hermione, my precious love, how are you today?"

"I have cancer," she said.

He closed his phone and apparated to her house in two seconds. He found her still crying on her stairs. He cried with her.

When Draco came home that night, he was in a celebratory mood, as his team had won. He came in the living room, calling for Hermione.

"Granger? I'm home. The match ended earlier than we thought. Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?" He walked into the living room, and then to the dining room. He found her sitting around the table, with Harry, Ginny, Ron and Lavender. He took one look at her, and she started to cry. He said, "NO!" He rushed to her arms, and picked her up and held her. They both cried.

Now, thirteen months later, the news was good, and they were going to go out tonight and celebrate not only the happy news, but also Valentine's Day. They were all deserving of some happy times.

She had written to Olivia just that day, to tell her the joyful news. She was better. She was going to be okay.

As the two friends sipped their coffee, Ginny said, "What colour dress did Olivia get for the dance tonight?"

"It's white with a red sash; I helped her pick it out the last weekend she was here. Maybe you should have gotten a white dress tonight, instead of a black," Hermione stated.

"A bit too virginal for me," Ginny goaded.

"Yes, you can't unwind a clock," Hermione laughed.

"James is so excited about the dance. He bought her a diamond heart necklace, with our permission of course," Ginny said. "Livy will look so pretty tonight," she added wistfully.

**Conversation between husband and wife part I**:

"Draco seemed so happy today, about Hermione," Harry said as he changed his shoes, removing his trainers.

"Yes, well, I just got back from shopping with Hermione, and she seemed to be in better spirits than I have ever seen her. Isn't it just great about her remission?" Ginny asked, as she hung up her new dress.

"Yes, it's great," Harry agreed as he fell back on the bed. "I'm going to take a little nap. Wake me in an hour."

Ginny walked over to her husband and sat down. She put her hand on his stomach. "Harry, I can tell when something is wrong with you, now, what is it?"

"I don't know," he said. He shut his eyes. "I get a funny feeling something is still going on between them. Something is just off, I feel it."

Ginny frowned and said, "That's just your worries and fears coming into play. They're fine, she's fine, and we're all fine. Just accept it." She stood up and left the bedroom.

Harry moved to his side and looked out his window. He knew he was alone, but he said aloud, "I would accept it if I thought it was true."

**Conversation with Husband and Wife Part II**:

Draco put his face down near his wife's as she read a book, while sitting on the couch. He kissed her cheek and then sat on the arm of the sofa. "Did you find something pretty to wear tonight?" His finger caressed her neck as he spoke.

"I think so," she commented. "However, it took Ginny forever to find a dress."

"You never did like shopping," he said, as he walked over to the couch and plopped down, his feet on one end, his head on the other, ready to take a nap.

"I just never liked shopping with you," Hermione said. She stood up from her end, and walked over and sat on the small space beside his hip. She leaned down, hands on chest, and kissed his chin. "You're always are so tired after your Saturday walks."

"Coming from the queen of tired," he said.

"I had cancer, that's a pretty good excuse," she said lightly.

"Well, it's an excuse no longer and never shall be again, so what say you, Mrs. Malfoy, that we go up stairs and I take my nap on the bed, and perhaps we could snog a bit, too?"

She stood up and said, "Lead the way."

**James and Olivia, at Hogwarts: **

Olivia sat in the library reading her mother's letter to her for the third time. Remission. Her mother was in remission. Olivia was not sure if that meant 'healed', but still, it meant for the time being, her cancer was gone and she was better. Olivia had been allowed to go home every weekend since her mum had become sick. She supposed that would stop now. While she would miss going home, it was a small price to pay, to have her mother better. She had not told James yet, but knowing Uncle Harry, he had probably already told him. However, also knowing James, he would never tell her that he already knew. He could keep a secret better than anyone she ever knew, and he was so gracious, that he would act as if he didn't know, even though he did, when she told him the happy news.

She folded the letter up and placed it inside her book. She felt a pair of dry, rough, but loving hands come over her eyes, and she already knew whom the person standing behind her chair was.

"Guess who?" James asked.

"Charles Tuttle?" she asked.

"Guess again," he asked.

"Monty Brewster?" she pondered.

"No."

"Joseph Peppercorn?" she smiled.

"No way! You only wish, since you've had a crush on him forever."

"Hugo Weasley," she asked.

"Now at least you're close, same bloodline. I swear, if you don't say my name soon I'm liable to cry," James pouted.

"I have no idea who you are stranger, but if you give me a kiss on the cheek, I'll let you take me to the dance tonight," she said.

"Deal," he said, releasing her eyes, and swiftly kissing her cheek. He pulled out the chair next to her, and sat down.

"And on the by and by, I don't like Joseph. I only have eyes for Monty," she said, coyly.

"Ah, well, he can take you to the dance tonight, then," James said. "What are you up to?"

"I'm reading, this is a library," she said as she sat at one of the long tables. She held up her hands out as if to say, 'see, library'.

"What are you reading in this, what's it called again, oh yes, library?" he asked, lacing her fingers in his. He brought her hand up to his mouth, and kissed her fingers lightly.

"A letter from my mum. She's all better, James, isn't that great?" she asked, her eyes bright. He put his arms around her and hugged her tight. "Shall I read her letter to you?"

"Sure, I love to hear you read," he said. He kept one or her hands for himself, but he allowed her to use the other to pull out the letter. She began to read, and he smiled widely. His dad had already told him about Hermione, and he couldn't be happier for both Hermione and Livy. He loved them both. The past year had been hard on all of them. It was hard on Hermione for the obvious reasons and hard on Draco because he finally had to be the strong one in the family. It was hard on Olivia, because she constantly worried about her mum, and hard on James, because he hated to see her sad. In addition, it was hard on his dad, who had always done everything in his power to keep his loved ones safe and alive, and who during her illness, felt powerless to help her at all.

Last summer, during her mum's treatments, Olivia stayed by her mum's side almost constantly. He didn't get to see her as much as usual, but he understood. She was incredibly close to her mother. James couldn't remember a time when they ever fought. She fought with her dad often, yelling at him, overreacting, slamming doors, but with her mum, she only ever discussed things. It was the opposite with James and his parents. He was closer to his dad.

He watched Olivia as her eyes scanned the letter, her round lips moved quickly as she read aloud, her whole body animated. He really loved her so. They had only ever exchanged small kisses, (the first when they were five) and soft, but closed mouth kisses, since last year. Tonight, all of that was going to change. James Potter was going to give Olivia Malfoy a proper, grown up, open mouth kiss tonight after the dance. He was looking forward to that more than to the dance.

Her cheeks looked flushed, and her bright grey eyes sparked as she finished reading the letter. When she finished reading, she placed the letter back in her book. He leaned over and kissed her cheek again.

**Conversation between Hermione and Blaise: **

"Where's Draco?" Blaise asked, lounging on Hermione and Draco's bed. Hermione walked out of the closet, in a white camisole and half slip, clutching a pair of stockings. Even dressed in next to nothing or maybe because she was dressed in next to nothing, Blaise Zabini thought she was beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever known. She had lost a lot of weight while she was sick, so he thought she was a bit on the thin side, but she was beginning to fill back out nicely.

Blaise had gotten closer to Hermione in the last year. Well, he had gotten closer to Hermione in the last fifteen or so years, but this past year they had become closer than ever. He would now classify her as his best friend. He thought of himself more as her friend than Draco's friend. He started out as a thorn in her side, grew to be a reliable friend of her husband's, to an acquaintance, to her friend, and now he was one of the people she loved the most, after Draco, Harry and Ron.

She was comfortable with him. She told him her secrets, things she could not even reveal to Harry, because he would be too judgmental, or Draco, because he would be too 'Draco'.

He would never admit this to anyone, because he cared too much for her, but he more than loved her, he was IN love with her. Yes, he loved her too much to tell her that he loved her, if that made any sense.

Every woman he had ever dated, and even the ones he had married, could not hold a candle to Hermione Granger-Malfoy. None of them could even try.

She sat on the bed, and began to put her first stocking on her leg. She regarded Blaise as a friend, so she didn't mind doing these little things in front of him, and he certainly didn't mind either. He climbed over the bed so that he was sitting beside her. He said, "Did you hear my question? Where's Malfoy?"

"He's at the Quidditch match with Theo," she answered.

"What? That could last all night. What about our plans this evening?" he asked her.

"He'll be here tonight, don't worry. Now, whom are you bringing tonight? That woman from the department store earlier?" she asked, as she put on her other stocking.

He reached down and drew his index finger up her thigh. She swatted it away. He said, "No, I plan on breaking up with Claudia before tonight."

She looked over at him and hit her shoulder into his, "Heartless bastard, breaking up with a woman on Valentine's Day! That was a long relationship," she joked. "So are you coming stag?"

"I suppose, if you still want me," he said.

She looked at him and put her hand over his in his lap. "Of course I want you." She smiled. He reached out and stroked her hair.

"I want you, too," he said cryptically. "I guess I'll have to give the Valentine's Day presents I bought for her to you. How would you look in a red thong and red high heels, and nothing else?" he joked.

"Uncomfortable," she answered. She stood up and went over to sit at her dressing table. She started to mess with her hair, finally sweeping it up to rest on the top of her head. He came and stood behind her.

His reflection looked at hers and he shook his head. "No good?" she asked.

He reached down and removed the clip from her hair. He put both hands in it and said, "Leave it long. I like it long and full. I'm thankful you didn't lose all your hair during your treatments."

"From you mouth to God's ears," she said. She suddenly looked up at him, turning in her seat. She said, "Seriously, Blaise, what is it going to take for you to finally find a nice girl and settle down? For good this time, no divorces, no affairs, just get married, have kids? Don't you want that?"

She stood up and walked over to her jewelry box. She pulled out a necklace and fumbled to put it on, so he walked up behind her, took it from her and put it around her neck. He turned her around, and his hand went underneath the silver chain. He fingered the diamond heart for a minute, and then carefully placed it back against her chest. His fingers stayed on top of the heart, over her heart. He said, "I want what Draco has."

"If you're serious, then you can have it, but you have to be open and receptive for it," she said.

She didn't understand. He let go of the necklace and put his hands on her arms. He slid them down to capture her hands. She had an innocent look on her face. She didn't know what he meant. He rested both her hands over his heart, and placed one of his hands on top to hold them still. His other hand went to the warm skin of her upper back, above the lace of her camisole. He pulled her flush up to his body. He said, "No, I want exactly what Draco has."

She saw the fire in his eyes. Instead of acting indignant, or angry, she removed her right hand from his chest and touched his face. "Blaise, I know you're probably just joking with me anyway, but you know I love my husband. I am flattered, however."

"You should be," he smiled. He lowered his head and smelled her hair. He said, "Jasmine?"

"Yes," she answered meekly.

He let her go so suddenly, she almost tumbled. He said, "I'm just teasing. Now, come and keep me company for a while. I need to be consoled, because I'm sad and lonely." He climbed back on the bed, and sat with his back against the headboard. He patted the place to his left. She walked around the bed and sat next to him.

"Sad and lonely," she mocked. "That's a feeble excuse. If you're sad and lonely, you have no one to blame but yourself." She stood back up and lifted her midnight blue robe off the back of her closet door, and placed it around her shoulders, and then tied it around her waist. Then she came to sit next to him on the bed again. She crossed her legs in front of her and said, "Really Blaise, don't you ever want to be married?"

"No," he said. He wanted to call himself a liar, but she beat him to it.

"I don't believe that," she said.

"Listen, Hermione, I can never be married to a woman I love, so if I can't have that, I don't want to be married, end of story." He wanted so badly to say, "_The _woman I love," instead of "_a_ woman I love," but he didn't want to scare her again. He leaned over to her and placed his hand on the sash of her robe. He toyed with it for a moment. He slowly and very deliberately leaned over and kissed her cheek. He wanted to kiss her mouth, but he didn't want to lose her as a friend. He knew Hermione Granger-Malfoy would never cheat on her husband, and he would not ask her to.

He lay down with his head on the pillow, his hand still held her robe sash. She leaned down and smiled at him. She said, "Poor Blaise. I'll find you someone. Someone smart, kind, beautiful, and emotionally mature." She leaned down so her head rested on his shoulder. She put her hand on his chest. He placed his arms around her body.

To her it was a simple gesture between friends, nothing more or less than she would have done with Ron or Harry. However, to Blaise, it meant so much more. He was holding the woman he loved.

**Conversations between ****Draco**** and Ginny**:

"Listen, Carrot top, if you aren't up for this, I will find someone else, but you shouldn't have lied to me and told me you could handle it if you couldn't," Draco said.

"Shut the hell up, Malfoy, I'm concentrating," Ginny said, as she levitated more candles in the air. "When I'm done, this ballroom will be the most beautiful place on earth." She started to work on the large crystal chandelier, which hung in the middle of the room. She made it so the lights sparkled and shimmered different colours.

"I just want the place to look special, for Hermione," Draco said, as he finished up with more decorations. Draco had reserved the whole ballroom exclusively for his friends and wife tonight, so not only they could celebrate Valentine's Day, but also, so they could celebrate the fact that Hermione was cancer free.

The chandelier that Ginny had just transfigured burned out suddenly. She frowned and Draco said, "Where's Hermione when you need her?"

Ginny stomped over to him and said, "Fine, Malfoy, if you fancy you can do a better job, give it go, otherwise be quiet." She stared at the light for a moment and then said, "I bet you were very pleased by the good news the doctor gave you."

He had to smile. "More than you know," he answered.

"Harry wrote and told James this morning, I hope that's okay. He won't tell Olivia yet, if you don't want him to," she said.

"Hermione wrote to her this morning, to tell her the great news," he told her. He looked up at the light, which was once again shimmering with multiple colours and he said, "I think I rather like that, thanks, Red."

"No problem, Blondie," she answered.

**Back in the Library: **

James held Olivia's hand under the table. He leaned over, as she read a book, and said in her ear, "We should leave soon for dinner, and then go get ready for the dance."

She laughed and said, "How long does it take you to get ready for a dance, James?"

"I don't know, since this is my first formal dance," he said plainly.

"All you have to do is shower and put on your dress robes. I have to shower, put on my dress, do my hair, and put on makeup, the whole shebang. I have to look pretty you know."

"I'm sure you will, since you always do," he said sweetly. "You'll look just as pretty as always."

"You better believe it," she said with a smile. She looked back at her book and with her free hand, (he was still holding one) she turned the page of her book. She hoped that tonight she and James might share their first grown up kiss. No one would believe that they had been seeing each other this long, and they had not even ever had a grown up kiss, but that was the truth.

They were always extremely affectionate with each other, but they had not ever once crossed the line. Olivia felt safe and loved by James. She was 15 now, and he was 14 ½. It was time to try new things, show each other how they really felt for the other. If he didn't kiss her tonight, she thought she was liable to explode!

She turned back to him, closed her book, and said, "Let's go have an early dinner, and then get ready for a night to remember." They walked out of the library hand in hand.

**Back to Blaise and Hermione**:

Hermione idly fiddled around with the front of Blaise's jumper. His arm was around her shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. He decided it was Valentine's Day, and if he couldn't tell the woman he loved that he loved her on Valentine's Day, then when could he? At least he could say it today, and she could assume he was just being romantic because of the day, that he didn't really mean it, and that he was just being a sentiment sap. She could think he meant it as a friend, so she would probably say it back. He wanted to hear her say it back. She would mean it as a friend, but he could pretend otherwise. It would give him something to hold on to, a memory that might last.

He brought his hand around and stroked her cheek as her face rested on his chest. He said, "Hermione?"

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I love you," he said seriously.

As expected, she smiled warmly and said, "Well, I love you, too, Blaise." Her head went back down to his chest.

He should have left it there, but he could not. He shifted so that she was no longer on his chest, but that he was now looming over her. She looked somewhat shocked. She lay looking up at him, with her head now on the pillow. His hand went to her waist and untied the sash that held her robe together. He put his hand on her stomach, on top of her camisole. He looked at her like he was lost, overwhelmed, and he said, "Please, Hermione, understand what I mean. I understand what you mean, so give me the same consideration. I love you, not just as a friend, but as a man loves a woman, and I have for a very long time." His hand grabbed her waist and then slid to her hip.

Her stomach clinched and she was having trouble focusing. She warned him with one word, "Blaise."

He answered with, "Hermione." He leaned completely over her, placed one leg overtop of hers, and while pinning her to the mattress, he kissed her lips, gently, but demanding. He kissed her urgently. She didn't know what to do. She lay there, unmoving, head spinning, not participating, but unable to push him off, because she was still too shocked to act coherently.

He pressed slightly harder, his hand that was on her hip moving to her shoulder. When she neither responded nor fought him off, he didn't know how to proceed. He wanted to continue, but he wanted her to participate.

He began to roam his hand up and down her body. With a bit of daring, he rested it on her breast. That brought her to life, but not in the way, he expected. She put both hands to his shoulders and tried to push him off her. He moved it from her breast to her neck. His lips pressed harder to part hers, but in that moment, the door opened and Blaise looked up. He didn't know if it would have been better if it was Draco or not, but it wasn't. It was Harry Potter.

**Harry Potter**:

Harry apparated to the Malfoy's house to see Hermione. He knew that his wife was helping Draco with the surprise, and feeling absolutely bored, he thought he would come see his best friend. He wanted to tell her how happy he was that she was all better. He climbed the stairs, after searching for her downstairs. He went to their room, and started to open the door.

**Back to Blaise and Hermione, Part II:**

Harry looked at Blaise, who still had one hand on her stomach. He looked toward Hermione, who by this time had both hands on Blaise's shoulders, pushing upward, and was crying. He felt as if he was suspended in time, motionless. He didn't know if he should run away or run toward them. Hermione made up his mind for him when she weakly said, "Help me, Harry."

Harry rushed over to the bed, just as Blaise went to stand up. He went to Hermione's side, and pulled her off the bed, by grabbing one wrist. He stood her behind him and said, "Get the bloody hell out of here, Zabini, before I kill you." Blaise looked at Harry, and in deed, Potter had his wand out before he knew it.

Blaise put his hands up and said, "Hermione, I'm so sorry. I had to tell you, therefore I'm not sorry about that, but if I scared you, then I'm sorry, but what I told you is the utter truth, and nothing will ever change that. I'm also not sorry that I kissed you. I just wish that you had kissed me back." He backed out of the room, hands in the air. Harry turned his body slightly, still blocking Hermione from his view. Blaise said, "Thanks, Potter." He meant that. It was good that Harry stopped them, because he might not have been able to.

Harry turned to face Hermione. She continued to cry. Harry didn't know why she was crying, because from what he saw, Blaise hadn't hurt her. Perhaps she was in shock. Perhaps she felt shame, guilt, or a combination. He pulled her in his arms and asked, "What happened?"

Without looking up at him, she cried, "He told me that he loved me, and that he wanted what Draco had, and at first I thought he was playing around, just flirting with me, like he always does, and so I ignored it, though in the back of my head, I knew what he meant. I've always known." She continued to sob.

"Why didn't you push him away immediately?" he accused. She pulled from his arms and sat on her bed. He sat beside her.

"I was shocked. I was so shocked. When he first told me, I told him that I loved my husband, and the next thing I knew he was on top of me, kissing me, his hands were roaming over my body, and I didn't know what to do, so I froze. I was embarrassed. Oh, Harry, what have I done?" She put her head back in her hands and continued to cry.

He rubbed her back and said, "You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay, it's his fault." He believed her, and he never did like Blaise, anyway. Perhaps he was somewhat jealous of his and Hermione's friendship. He didn't like to think that was the reason, but it probably was.

Hermione sat up and turned to Harry, eyes wide, no longer crying, and she said, "Draco is going to be so livid! He'll blame us both. He'll ask me why I was on the bed with him in the first place and he'll take out all his anger on me, and then he'll go find Blaise and who knows what will happen!"

Harry couldn't believe he was going to say what he knew he was going to say. He said it anyway. "Don't tell Draco. No good will come of it, and nothing really happened anyway. It will cost him a friend, ruin Valentine's Day, and cause you undue anguish and you don't deserve that, and neither does Malfoy. You two deserve happiness right now."

"How can I not tell him?" she asked. "His secrets of this type is what has caused me that most pain in my life."

"No," Harry disagreed, "finding the secrets out caused you the most pain in your life, not the actual secrets themselves, and while we're on the subject of secrets, think about that, Malfoy has done much worse things over the course of your marriage, than you ever have. Don't tell him, Hermione, just don't."

"He'll wonder why Blaise isn't with us tonight," Hermione retorted.

"I'll go talk to Blaise and smooth things over," Harry promised.

**Draco and Blaise:**

Ginny left to get ready for tonight. Draco knew it was about time for him to leave as well. He still had to shower and change. He wanted everything to be perfect. He began to leave, when Blaise Zabini walked in the door.

"Draco, we have to talk," Blaise said.

"Can it wait, because I really need to get home and shower? We can talk tonight," Draco reasoned.

He started to walk past the man, and had just reached the door when he heard from behind him, "I just kissed your wife and told her that I loved her."

Draco turned around slowly. He looked closely at Blaise's face, to see if he was joking, or if it held truth. He was telling the truth. He rushed up to Blaise and pushed him. "What did you say?"

"You apparently heard me, since you're getting physical," Blaise said, "But, Hermione told me she only loves you, and she didn't kiss me back. Potter's there consoling her now. He's the one who walked in and stopped me, before I could do something we both regretted," Blaise said.

"How could you?" Draco said.

"I love her," Blaise answered. He sat down at one of the chairs around the single table.

Draco really did want to hit the man, but yet, he was his oldest friend, and the truth was, he always knew how Blaise felt for Hermione. A person would have had to be blind, or Hermione, not to know how Blaise felt for her.

Draco sat down beside the man and put his hand on his back in a comforting gesture. "I should hex your balls off, you know?" Draco said.

"I know," Blaise said.

"I don't think you should come tonight," Draco said plainly.

"I don't want to lose you two," Blaise answered.

"You won't, just give me time to process this, and let Hermione make a pro and con list of why Blaise should still be in our lives," Draco laughed.

"Potter almost killed me, you know?" Blaise said.

"Potter's your problem, he's never liked you," Draco said.

Blaise stood up and patted Draco's shoulder. "I really am sorry. Please tell Hermione for me."

"I will," Draco said. He stood as well and then both men left.

**Back at the Malfoy's: ****  
**

Harry had left to get ready for dinner. Hermione put her dress on, and started to put her make up on, when she stopped. She stared at her reflection. She said to herself, "You have to tell him, no matter what Harry says."

Draco walked soberly in their room, opening the door slowly. He looked at his wife, and she looked at him. She rushed to his arms and he held her tight. "Draco, I have something awful to tell you."

He pulled her over to the bed, and sat down next to her. He held her hand and said, "How awful could it be? You couldn't have cancer again, so soon after your good appointment. So, let's put this is perspective," he continued, "Do you have a run in your stockings, because I'm sure you have another pair. Have you gained a stone, because you could probably do with gaining two? Have you lost your hairbrush, because your hair looks wonderful? Have you stopped loving me, because I still love you? Did Blaise Zabini tell you that he loved you and did he kiss you today? Because even that wouldn't matter to me. Now, tell me what's wrong and what has you all sad and worried."

She looked at him closely, and he smiled. She knew that he knew. She said, "It's a combination of all of those, can you believe it? You're very good with these things."

"I've always fancied myself a bit of a psychic," he harked.

**Best friend forever, forever-best friends: **

James Potter couldn't believe his luck. He felt he had always been lucky, but right now, with Olivia Malfoy in his arms, he felt like the luckiest boy at the dance. She looked beautiful, in a white fluffy dress, which made her look like a princess, and a big red sash in the middle. Her hair was brown and warm, and she wore it long and curly, down her back. Her eyes were the colour of silver, and her smile melted his heart. He pulled her closer. His left hand went to her back, while his right hand held her left hand tightly.

She looked up at him and smiled.

Olivia felt like a princess, and she was dancing with her prince. James Potter, hair black as night, and forever messy, eyes a deep brown, tall, handsome, one of the most popular boys in school, he was her best friend, and she loved him. She had loved him since she was a child, and she knew that someday she would marry him. She knew she was young, so it was silly to think of such things now, but that didn't negate the fact that it was true.

He asked her if she wanted something to drink. She said no. He held her hand and pulled her out in the hall.

"You're so beautiful tonight, Liv," he said. He bounced one of her curls, and pushed it off her shoulder.

"You're the beautiful one," she said back.

He laughed and held his hand up to chest. "Me, beautiful? You must have your eyesight checked. Perhaps you need to wear my father's glasses."

She said, "Nope, you're beautiful, and you always have been."

"I believe you, if you say so, but I would rather be thought of as dapper, handsome, good-looking, any other masculine words, not beautiful," he said, taking her hand again. He went with his gut instinct and he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the top.

"I can't help it, you are beautiful, inside and out, so that's the best word I can come up with to describe you," she said. She suddenly seemed bashful as she looked at the floor. The way he held her hand, and kissed the top, made her stomach tingle.

He looked concerned, and he continued to hold her hand with one of his and with the other hand, he touched her cheek. "What's wrong, Liv? Are you thinking about your mum?"

"No, I'm wondering when you're going to kiss me," she said.

"You want me to kiss you?" he asked, amused.

"It's not funny, James. We've been best friends forever, and even more, but you've never really kissed me, not a real kiss. I know we're young, but many kids our age have kissed. Everyone's assumed we have," she stammered.

"Are we supposed to do what everyone else does, or what our hearts tell us to do?" he asked, suddenly as serious as she was.

Olivia threw her arms around his shoulders. He pressed her body up to his, and put his arms around her tight. He patted her back. "James, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that we should kiss just because everyone else has. I just really want to kiss you." She leaned away from his body, but only a fraction, and looked up at him.

He was already tall, taller than his father was. He was still thin, and somewhat gangly, but Olivia felt safe in his arms. He leaned down and placed his lips gently to hers. He moved his lips slightly, removing them completely, and then kissed her again. Her hands when to his shoulders, as one of his remained on her back, and the other went to her bare neck.

She moved her head slightly to the side, and they continued to kiss. He opened her mouth with his lips, and she tasted divine. His tongue came out hesitantly, and he let it circle her lips. He just did what felt natural.

Her tongue met his, and he felt a jolt of electricity, which shook him to his core. He pressed her tighter up against him, and he waited for her tongue again. When he felt it on his own once more, he thought he died and went to heaven.

She stopped kissing first. She looked bashfully back down at his chest. He relaxed his hold on her, ever so slightly, and he said, "You're not only my best friend, Olivia, but you are my one love. I love you."

She smiled at him and said, "Of course I love you, too. Shall we go back in the dance, now that I got my kiss?"

"You got your kiss? Excuse me, missy, but that was my kiss. I had planned to kiss you like that all week. I planned it all evening. No, that was my kiss," he said, smiling, and holding her hand.

"Well, it was always my intention that we should kiss tonight also, so if that was your kiss, we will have to kiss again later, so I can have mine," she reasoned.

He said, "I have always loved the fact that you are the smartest girl in school."

**Romantic Valentine's Day dinner: **

After a wonderful feast, Hermione and Draco were dancing on the empty dance floor. Lights of multiple colours sprayed around them. The music was slow and sensual. Harry and Ginny were laughing with each other at the table. Ron and Lavender decided to join them at the last minute, as did Blaise and his date, Claudia.

Hermione tried to ignore Blaise all evening. She didn't know if they could ever go back to the way they were, or even if they should.

Draco held her tightly in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder. She said, "This was the best Valentine's Day, ever. Thanks, Draco." Draco's mouth moved over Hermione's in a deep, possessive kiss. His hand went to hold her chin, and she melted with his touch. Her hand lifted and went to the back of his neck. She held his head in place, wanting to feel the awakening tide of his passion.

He made a low sound in the back of his throat, as his lips moved against hers. He lifted his mouth to trail kisses across her cheek to the sensitive area behind her ear, and then down the long column of her neck. She always loved when he kissed her neck.

His hand went from her upper back, to her lower back, to her hip and down her thigh, and back up again. Kissing back up to her neck from her collarbone, he said, "I want to kiss you forever." However, he stopped kissing her to look at her face. He said, "I have a confession."

"What?"

"I confess that I love you more today than I did the day I asked you to marry me."

She smiled. He held her tight once more. She bit her lip, and then looked back up to him. "I have a confession, too."

He smiled as his hand stroked her back. "What is it?"

"I had sex once with Damon Belpre, the year before I got sick, right before I sold him my store," she said.


	5. Day Five, Year Five

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Chapter 5, Day Five, March 25, Year Five**

* * *

**St. Mungo's: **

"Where is she?" Draco asked, running into the lobby on the fourth floor of St. Mungo's. Ron ran in right behind him.

"They're still working on her," Harry said.

"What happened?" Draco asked, out of breath.

"A broom accident," Ginny explained.

Draco started pacing around the lobby. "Sit down, Draco, the healers will be out soon to tell us what's going on with her," Blaise said.

"I'll do what I want!" Draco shouted.

Hermione walked through the door, ashen faced, and somber. "She's sleeping right now. She has a broken femur, and two broken ribs. She had a ruptured spleen, so they had to do an operation and remove it. She has a concussion still, and she's sleeping from the surgery, but she's going to be okay," she told the room. She looked over at Draco. He looked at her and smiled. "Draco, you can go in and see her."

Draco rushed down the hall. Hermione turned to the rest of them, "Listen, this promises to be a very long day, you all don't have to stay."

"Of course we're staying," Harry said, taking her hand.

"I'm going to go get some tea in the tearoom," Hermione said. "I want to go alone," she added, when she saw both Harry and Blaise start to stand.

She went down two floors to the tearoom, and ordered some tea. She sat by herself, at a small round table in the corner, and finally broke down. When the Headmistress of Hogwarts flooed her to tell her that Olivia had fallen off a broom this morning and was being transported to St. Mungo's, Hermione felt like her legs had been kicked out from under her. Not her little girl, please. They could not get a hold of Draco for the longest time. Finally, Ron left Hospital just to go find him. She put her head in her hands and continued to cry.

She felt a hand on her back. She looked up, and saw Draco. "May I join you?"

"Of course," she said. She sat up and wiped her eyes. He had a cup of coffee in his hand. He sat down next to her, instead of opposite. She tried to stop crying, but she couldn't, so she just continued.

"She's going to be fine, Hermione, don't cry," he said.

"I know, I can't help it, I just can't lose her, too," she said. She added the 'too' without thinking, and quickly regretted it.

"You haven't lost me, you know," he said with a frown.

"I feel like I have, sometimes," she answered.

They sat in silence, she drinking her tea, he drinking his coffee and both reflecting on the last year.

Valentine's Day, a year ago, she confessed to him, while on the dance floor, that she had slept with Damon Belpre the year prior. She didn't know why she told him that, because _it was not even true_. She had thought about sleeping with him, and she had kissed him, and she had even gone to his house with him to sleep with him, but at the last moment, she didn't. So why did she tell him that she did? Why did she purposely hurt the man who had seen her through a year of cancer, had loved her and been her rock? The same man who had so blindly forgiven her when he found out that his best friend had kissed her.

Because she had found out that while she was sick, he had slept with another woman. She did it to hurt him, and to make him angry. She did it for simple revenge, and now she regretted it. Hermione wanted him to be as angry as she was. She wanted to ruin the perfect Valentine's Day, which he had planned, and show him that their marriage was a hoax.

Hermione was a fool.

The damage was long done. He looked so hurt when she told him that she had slept with Damon. He yelled, screamed, and told everyone else to leave the ballroom. Harry and Blaise both refused. They stayed right outside the door.

He asked Hermione what happened. He shook her so hard her teeth rattled. She told him that she was working late on a Sunday afternoon, two days before Christmas the year before, and that the store had already closed for the day. She was tired, and on edge, worrying about Christmas and about her upcoming appointment with her doctor. She said that Damon had stopped by to make her another offer on the store, and this time, she didn't feel like fighting him. She accepted.

He asked if he could take her out for a drink, to celebrate. She said yes. They went to a Muggle bar, a nice, quiet place, and had some wine. One glass turned to two. She thought that he was affable, and friendly, and attentive to her. She liked that.

"You know, you could stay on, as a consultant. I can't imagine the shop with you," Damon told her. He reached over and took her hand. She looked down, but did not remove her hand from his.

He asked if he could drive her home. Since he was a Muggle, she went ahead and accepted, knowing the drive would take over 30 minutes, and because she was having such a nice time with him, and because she didn't want it to end.

He asked if they could stop off at his house first, and she said yes. He invited her in, and she accepted. He took her coat from her shoulders, and she allowed him to do so. He took her purse and placed it with her coat on a chair. He offered her some more wine. She gladly agreed to one more glass. As he walked over to her with the glass of wine, he touched her hand. He put the wine on the coffee table, stroked her cheek, and leaned in and kissed her mouth.

And she let him.

Then, the kiss grew more passionate, and Hermione's head began to spin. She loved her husband, she loved her husband! Nothing was lacking in her life! Why was she allowing this? He stopped kissing her and smiled so sweetly that it almost melted her resolve. His hands went down her arms and held her hands tightly. He asked if she wanted to come upstairs.

She said no. She grabbed her things and ran from the house. He called after her. Hermione apparated home from the nearest alley.

After her admission to Draco, he was so quiet that she was scared. He had never been that quiet before. She was crying, and she said that she was sorry, and she swore nothing really happened. She told him that she didn't know why she said they slept together, when in reality, they really didn't. Her mind went back to the conversation she had with Blaise on Christmas about how she had never slept with another man besides her husband. She was thankful that when she had told him that, she didn't have to lie, that it was the truth.

"Why did you even kiss him? You wanted something to happen!" Draco yelled at her.

"Yes, I think I did," she admitted.

"Why did you have to ruin everything? Why lie? Why tell me you slept with him when you didn't?" Draco screamed.

"Why become angry with me if it's not that big of a deal?" she asked. "You know as well as I do, that an affair of the heart is the same as an affair. I feel like I cheated on you, even though I didn't have sex with him, and I'm sorry, and if I could take it back, I would!"

"But why tell me now? Why wait over a year to tell me?" he bellowed. He grabbed both her arms.

"You know why," she said. "You have your secrets, too, don't you, Draco?"

Draco left her that night. He never came back to her. Several people knew the truth. Draco Malfoy had an affair while his wife was sick. Harry was the one to tell her about Draco's affair. Harry should not have, he knew it at the time, but he did, and he thought she was fine with it. No, not fine, but he thought she had accepted it. Since they were still together, Harry thought that she had already confronted Draco, and they had worked it all out, so never in his wildest dreams would he assume that Draco had never told her, and she had never confronted him. He never imagined that she would make up a lie to get back at him, and that it would backfire in her face.

Harry Potter was a fool.

Blaise Zabini was the one to tell Harry about the incident between Draco and the woman. He told Harry because he had hoped that Harry would tell Hermione. He knew that Harry was a self-righteous, do-gooder who thought he was better than everyone else was. He knew he would take it upon himself to tell Hermione. Unlike Harry, he didn't have an honourable reason for wanting Hermione to know. He wanted Hermione to know because secretly, down deep, he wanted Hermione to leave Draco. He never imagined that she wouldn't. He knew she was ill when it happened, that Draco didn't mean for it to happen, and that he still loved his wife more than anything. He never imagined that Hermione would not only never confront Draco about it, but that she would wait a year, and then make up a lie like that, just to get back at him.

Blaise Zabini was a fool.

Draco Malfoy had a one-night stand while his wife was in the hospital, right after her surgery for kidney cancer. He was despondent, he went out to a bar, he was pissed, and he went home with a witch, whom he did not even know her name, and if someone asked him a year later to pick her out of a crowd, he would not have been able to, but it happened. He hated himself for it. He vowed that next morning, if his wife could just forgive him, he would be faithful to her the rest of his days. The thing was that he never told her. He didn't see the need. She was so sick and fragile; it might have hindered her recovery. And it really didn't mean anything.

That was what he told himself. Blaise Zabini was the only one who knew. The thing was, it was the only time during his whole marriage that he had ever strayed, but it didn't mean he didn't love his wife.

He remembered how badly she reacted when Scott Cohn told her that his wife and Draco slept together on the eve of their wedding. They were separated for a month after that, but she eventually forgave him. This was just some unnamed girl, who meant nothing, and he didn't even know why it happened, so to spare his wife's feelings, to make sure she recovered her health, and to save his marriage, he never told her. Then, a year later, on Valentine's Day, she told him that a few weeks before his little one-night stand, she almost slept with the man who bought her shop, and Draco left her that night. He left her because of his own guilt, and because of her _lack_ of guilt. The thing was, his little dalliance meant nothing, there were no emotions involved. Her little interlude, though more innocent than his, meant more, because there were emotions involved.

Draco Malfoy was a fool.

A hypocrite and a fool. He rushed out of the ballroom, and he heard her tears fall as he slammed the door. He went home, packed a bag, and left their house. Three days later, Harry Potter showed up at his hotel room, hit him square in the face, (which Draco felt was uncalled for) and told him he could move back home because Hermione moved into a cottage on his estate. He then told Draco that he had told Hermione about Draco's one-night stand. He told Draco that people who lived in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Then he told Draco that all that happened between Damon and Hermione was a kiss, a car ride to the man's house, and a phone call to Harry afterwards from a dejected Hermione, who told Harry she would never have gone through with it. He wanted to say, 'yes, yes, Potter, I know, go to hell', but he didn't, he stood there and took it.

Why did his wife tell him this? It served no purpose, but he knew why. To hurt him as much as he hurt her, and to see if he could forgive her, which he couldn't.

Yes, Draco Malfoy was indeed a fool. His marriage was in shambles, he didn't know what to do, and the longer he did nothing, the harder everything was to fix. They had already been apart for a year, and it felt like an eternity. He even used that damn wishbone Hermione got him two years ago, just today, to wish for his wife to return to him. If he had known his little girl was going to be fighting for her life, he wouldn't have wasted the wishbone on something so frivolous. Not that his marriage was frivolous, but compared to his daughter's life, it was.

Hermione continued to cry, her head now on the table, on top of her arms. He brought his hand up and put it back on her back. He moved it in small circles, to try to comfort her, and to comfort himself.

**Olivia Wakes Up: **

Olivia woke up and she was afraid and in pain. Her side hurt very badly. She called out for her mum. Instead, James came up to her bed. He looked like he had been crying. He said, "Oh, Olivia, I am so, so, sorry. Please, forgive me. I would cut off my right hand before I would hurt you."

"It wasn't your fault that the wind picked up," she said.

"No, but it was my fault for having you out on a broom, on a windy Saturday morning in March, and it was my fault for not controlling the broom better. My father was so angry with me, that he grounded me. He took my broom from me, and said I might never get it back," James said with a small smile. "When I felt you start to fall, all I could think was, I have to save her, and I reached out and grabbed your jacket, but you fell anyway." He sat in a chair next to her bed and put his head down on the mattress. She put her hand in his hair.

"Shouldn't you be comforting me right now, not the other way around," she asked.

"You funny thing," he said. He kissed her hand. "Your mum and dad are down in the tearoom. Do you want me to go get them?"

"They're together?" she asked.

"That's what my dad said when I just arrived," he told her, stroking her hair.

"No, let them be, I have you here, and that's all I need," she said. In truth, she hoped that her mother and father might work some things out today. She hated that they were separated, and all for nothing. All because her mother lied, and her father couldn't forgive her, and because her father made a mistake, and he couldn't forgive himself either. Neither one could give in to the other. They were both too bullheaded. And to think, for the longest time she blamed herself.

Olivia was a fool.

She was tired of playing games with them. She was tired of her father's childish behaviour. She was tired of her mother's sensitivity. She felt like slapping them both in the face and telling them to wake up!

She turned her head toward the wall. She was so tired, and in so much pain, that she closed her eyes, and willed sleep to overcome her, so that when she woke up again, perhaps not only would she be better, but perhaps her family would be complete once more.

**James by himself: **

James was over the moon that Olivia was going to be all right. He left her room, as she had finally fallen to sleep, and he went to a little lobby by himself, and for the first time since he was six years old, he cried.

How could he let her come into such danger? He felt reckless, and daring, as usual. She was cautious, as usual. He wanted to take her out on his new broom before the early morning Quidditch practice. He coaxed her on the broom. It was cold, and windy, and she seemed apprehensive, but he kept goading her, even teasing her, to make her change her mind.

"Come fly with me, Livy," he said.

"Don't be a chicken!" he laughed.

"If you love me, you'll join me!" he finally stated.

Therefore, she did. They were only up in the air for about ten minutes, when a nasty tail wind picked up, jerked them both forward, then back, then forward again. She was holding on behind. At first, he wondered why she was no longer holding him around his waist, but at the same moment, he heard her scream. He flew down, caught her jacket, and held her long enough so they weren't too high up, when the unthinkable happened. He let go. He let go, accidentally, and she fell crashing to the ground, and now she was in the hospital, she had surgery, and it was his fault.

James Potter was a fool.

He was telling the truth when he said he would rather cut off his right hand than hurt her. She had just had two of the worst two years a girl could have, with her mother's illness, and then with the separation of her parents, yet she always had a smile on her face. She always had a kind word for everyone, and she always made him feel like she loved him.

And he hurt her like this. He cried even harder.

**Back in the Tearoom: **

Hermione: Why did you leave me?

Draco: I left because I didn't want to confess to you or to myself what I did, so if I acted angry with you because of what you said you did, that way, I could be the wounded party, and I would never have to admit what I did. Why did you lie about something like that?

Hermione: Because you weren't angry with my kissing Blaise. I wanted you to become angry, it wasn't planned; it just crossed my mind at that moment that you weren't angry. If you had become angry with me about Blaise, I was going to tell you I knew about what you did. Also, just because it didn't happen, didn't mean that I didn't want it to. I just wish you had told me about your infidelity.

Draco: If you knew all this time, why didn't you tell me? Confront me?

Hermione: I wanted to, so many times, but I was ill, and I needed you, but it weighed on my heart constantly. It was always there, in the back of my mind. Every time you were kind or loving, I wondered, is he doing this because he feels guilty? Does he feel indebted to me? Does he think he has to stay with me just because I'm ill? Every time you helped me while I was ill, I thought, 'Is he just staying with me because he feels sorry for me?' It was a constant weight on my shoulders. I kept waiting and waiting for you to tell me, but then I realized, you never told me about the first time you cheated, why would you tell me about this time. You wouldn't. You didn't. That was when I figured you were a coward. Even staying with me proved you were a coward.

Draco: You don't give me enough credit.

Hermione: I don't give you enough _discredit_.

**Olivia tells Harry how her parents' separation affected her: **

Harry walked in Olivia's room quietly. He was looking for his son. He saw Olivia alone in her room, asleep. He walked over to her and stroked her hair. He was transported back to the day she was born, when he was the first person ever to see her, and he stroked her little head back then, too.

"Harry?" she asked. "Where's my mum?"

"Shall I go get her? I think she's still with your dad in the tearoom. They're talking," Harry said. He sat in the chair beside her bed. "Are you in pain?"

"Not much," she said hoarsely. "You need to find James and tell him not to feel bad about what happened," she implored, "and look, maybe something good came out of this, if my mum and dad are talking again."

"You know the whole reason they separated was my fault," Harry said. He knew he shouldn't have this adult conversation with her, but sometimes she was the most mature person he knew.

"No, it's my dad's fault for cheating, and my mum's fault for lying, and then my dad's fault for not asking her for forgiveness the minute he heard that she lied and the reason, and her fault for not apologizing to him. It's a classic case of he said, she said, with two of the most stubborn people on the face of this earth," she said.

"How did you get to be so smart?" he asked with a smile.

"Have you ever met my mum?" she asked, "I hear I got my brains from her."

"And your beauty," Harry added.

She had to smile through the pain. "For the longest time, I really blamed myself, and I know that's stupid now, but I thought, if I had only been a better daughter, if I had done better in school, or if I had stayed home while she was sick, taken away some of my dad's burden, maybe none of this would have happened."

"Oh, Liv," he said, "You know it had nothing to do with you. I really should never have told her. She was sick when I told her, not even well yet. It was wrong, and to this day, the only explanation I have is that I secretly, well, not so secretly, harbored bad feelings toward your dad, which I still do to this day. I'll never think he's good enough for her. Like a hypocrite, I called him a friend in one breath, while all the time thinking that he was no good. I speak of his old prejudices holding firm, but it's my old prejudices that won't go away. I'm so sorry I caused you all so much pain."

"Do you think they will get back together?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know, I really don't know."

**In the Tearoom Once More: **

Draco went to get a muffin. He brought one for her as well. She tore pieces off, eating small bites.

"Where do we go from here, Hermione?" he asked.

"I don't know. Do you forgive me?" she asked.

He laughed, though he found nothing at all funny. "Forgive you for kissing a chap, or for thinking about cheating, or for telling me you had a fake affair, or for not confronting me about my one night stand, or for getting sick in the first place, because frankly, I've been angry with you about all five."

She looked at him for many long minutes before she asked, "You were angry with me for getting sick?"

"Yes, I was," he admitted, "As insane as that was, I was angry at the cancer, and I was angry at you for getting it, for ruining our perfect life, and for spoiling everything, and for forcing me to be the strong one in the relationship, and for turning our world upside down. It's irrational, but it was an honest emotion, and I sincerely felt it."

She put her head back on the table. She started to cry again. He said, "Gee, Hermione, don't cry. I don't feel like that now. I only feel happy that you're better. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that."

She looked up and said, "You would do anything to blame someone else, but yourself."

"Pardon?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"You were angry at me for getting sick, so you went out and screwed some nameless woman. Just like the first time you cheated on me. You were afraid because YOU lied to me about the reasons for us getting married, and YOU were afraid I would not marry you, so YOU slept with a married woman on the eve of our wedding. It is always my fault. Then the moment you think I slept with someone else, you leave me and don't look back. It's always all my fault."

He didn't know what to say. What could he say, when she had a point? He asked, "Tell me what really happened with you and that man. I mean, I know the semantics, from what you told me last Valentine's Day, but what led you to the point where you thought about sleeping with him, or even kissing him? Tell me what really happened."

**Two Years Ago, Two Days before Christmas: **

Hermione had let her staff leave early. It was Sunday, and the last day they were opened before Christmas. Hermione was so tired. She had many things to finish up for Christmas, and she was worried about her upcoming doctor's appointment with the specialist. She was already afraid of what was wrong. Something deep inside her told her that she was very sick.

She finished up with the paperwork and went out to the store to turn out the lights. She heard a rap on the door. She went to the door and saw Damon Belpre. She wondered what he wanted. Surely, he didn't still want to buy her store, after all this time! She opened the door for him.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy, and Happy Christmas," he said.

"What may I do for you?" she asked.

"Is the shop closed already?" he asked from the doorway.

"Yes, for the holidays, actually,' she mentioned.

"You plan on missing all those Christmas Eve last minutes book buyers, huh?" he smiled.

"I'm not the business person you are, apparently," she said. She held the door opened and said, "Come on in."

He walked in and removed his overcoat. He said, "You probably already know why I'm here. I know I have been bothering you for two years now, but I still want to buy this place. It's in a prime location, the foot traffic is phenomenal, it's quaint, and different, and it's just what my company needs. Please, reconsider my offer from before. I will even double it."

She smiled and said, "You must not remember what you offered, if you want to double it."

"I recall," he said. "If you say no this time, I'll understand, and never bother you again, but I hope you'll at least think about it."

"Yes," she said.

He was confused, so he asked for clarification. "Yes, you will think about it?"

"Yes, I mean, no I won't think about it," she stumbled.

"Then the answer's no?" he asked, even more confused.

"No, the answer's yes," she said. She shook her head and said, "Let's start over, offer to buy my shop, again."

He let out a little laugh. "May I buy your shop?" he asked slowly.

"Yes, you may," she said.

He smiled widely, smacked his hands together, and said, "Well, alright then, that's marvelous. May I invite you to have a drink to celebrate?"

"I'd like that very much," she said. She didn't know why she accepted his offer, but she did.

**The Rest of the Story: **

Hermione spent the better part of an hour telling Draco what happened that day. She ended with, "And when he asked me to go upstairs, I really did consider it for the briefest moment, but then I pictured you and Livy, and I knew I could never do something like that to jeopardize my family. I ran out of his house quickly, afraid if I stayed, I would betray myself. When I got home, you were out Christmas shopping. I called Harry and confessed everything to him. He told me that since nothing really happened, I should never mention a word of any of it to you. He said no good would come of it, and he was right."

Draco said, "What good did he think would come out of telling you about my mistake? What good came from that, Hermione?" Draco was suddenly angry, not with her, per say, but still angry, so he stood up and walked out of the room.

He roamed the halls aimlessly until he found himself back up at Olivia's room. He opened the door slowly, in case she was sleeping, which she was. Harry was sitting in a chair by her bed, holding her hand. Draco knew that no matter what, Potter really loved his wife and daughter, and it was for those reasons alone that he didn't completely hate the man. There was a time, when he would have almost considered the man HIS friend, but not any longer. He considered him a sanctimonious, self-righteous, pain in the arse. There was a time when all he wanted was to be friends with Harry Potter, and for a while, he thought they were, but if the man were ever really Draco's friend, he would never have told Hermione about his one night affair, so that proved to Draco how precarious his relationship with Potter was.

It could just mean that his friendship with Hermione was more important than his friendship with Draco, and in the end, Draco would expect nothing less. No matter what, though, Draco would never forgive the man for telling his wife such an awful truth, and for the downfall of his marriage. Never. When he left his wife, he not only lost her, but he lost all of her friends, and he didn't know at the time how much that loss would hurt.

**Draco and Olivia: **

He was barely on speaking terms with any of them. Harry looked up and said, "She's sleeping."

"I can see that."

"Where's Hermione?"

"I don't know," he lied. Let Potter go find her himself if he wanted to talk to her. Harry got up to leave and Draco said, "Tell James not to beat himself up over this. We all make mistakes. We all hurt the people we love, and sometimes, it really is an accident."

"Yes, sometimes it is," Harry said, with the emphasis on the word, 'sometimes'.

He turned to leave when Draco added, "Potter, thanks for being there for Hermione over the last thirteen months."

"I will always be there for her, unlike some people," Harry said sarcastically. "I recall you making the same vow on your wedding day, but things mean different things to different people." Harry left the room.

Draco couldn't ponder the preaching of Potter at that moment. He was more concerned for his daughter. As he watched her sleep, he was taken back to when she was so tiny, and just born, and how bravely she fought for her life back then. He was proud of how bravely she fought now. He leaned down and kissed her head. "Keep fighting, Livy." He stroked her hair.

Having Olivia was the best thing Draco Malfoy had ever done in his entire life. He knew that without a doubt. He and Hermione had loved each other enough, at least at one time, to produce such a perfect creature as the girl lying in front of him. She was a testament to their love. He was in awe of her. Having her gave him a purpose in his life. Gave him a reason to breathe and to live. A reason to move ahead, and a reason finally to seek the forgiveness he needed to get on with his life. If he hadn't had her to lean on during this last year, he would have curled into a ball and died.

He was extremely upset last summer when she chose to live with Hermione in that little two-bedroom cottage, rather than at home. Olivia told him that her mother needed her, and he wanted to scream, "I need you, too!" but he knew she had a point, and he didn't want to tear her in two, so he didn't fight with her about it. It was what it was.

She came and stayed with him the week before school started back, and she told him that he needed to be a man and make things right. She showed him no respect at all. If he had ever talked to his father that way, he would have been permanently made to keep quiet.

She told him, "How can you continue to hold a grudge, when you are the one in the wrong? You're the one who really cheated, not her! Count your blessings, Dad, and face up to your mistakes! If you don't fix this soon, you'll die old and alone with nothing but your pride to keep you company."

The gull of the girl! Draco felt like shaking her good, even if she was telling the truth, or maybe because she WAS telling the truth. The thing that hurt Draco more than anything was what she said when she stepped on the train to go back to school last fall. She looked out her window and said, "You disappoint me, Dad."

Well, hell, he disappointed himself, too! He had wanted to talk to Hermione so many times, but he never knew how to approach her. Even that day, Hermione came to see Livy off, she smiled at Draco, and he turned his back on her and walked away. Livy wasn't the only one disappointed in Draco Malfoy.

He wanted the last year to disappear from his book of life. He wished it had never happened. He wanted to pick up where they left off, and he kept the memory of his happy life, and his beautiful family, locked up tightly and safe in his heart. He would keep it there until he got it back for real.

He leaned down and kissed his daughter's head once more. "Thank you, Olivia, for picking me to be your dad. I won't disappoint you this time. I'll make it right before I leave here today. I promise. I swear this to you." He walked back out of her room, on a mission. He was going to find Hermione, beg her forgiveness, and make her take him back. He wanted his family back. He made this mess and he would fix it.

**Draco and James: **

Draco peered into the lounge, which was empty expect for one occupant. James Potter sat by himself, on a straight back chair, in the corner, with his head hanging down and his hands to his face. Draco almost walked by without stopping, but he felt obliged to stop. He had to talk to the boy.

James looked up at the approaching footsteps. Draco could see the guilt on the boy's face. He felt instant empathy with the young man. They both hurt the women they loved, due to recklessness, and they both felt extreme remorse over the fact.

Draco sat down in a chair near James and said, "One word of advice, James. She cannot forgive you until you forgive yourself. Don't let guilt rule your life. You didn't mean to hurt her. You didn't have a malicious intent. In the long run, she knows that, and she'll forgive you."

James stood and said, "I offer you the same words, Draco. The exact same words." He patted Draco's shoulder and walked out of the lounge. Draco always did like young Potter better than he liked old Potter. He stood back up to resume his search for his wife. She was still his wife, and he wanted her back. He was determined to gain her forgiveness before the end of the day. He would have his family intact if it was the last thing he did.

**Hermione and Harry, The Argument**:

Hermione walked through the long hallways, looking for Draco. She saw Harry walking toward her. He approached her and he put his arms around her. She placed her cheek against his shoulder. He said, "Look into your heart, Hermione. It's time to forgive him."

She pushed away from him and said, "I forgave him a long time ago, he just wouldn't let me tell him as much. What I'm struggling with, Harry, is the fact that I'm having trouble forgiving you."

He looked shocked and he said, "Me? What have I done?"

Hermione said, "Why did you have to tell me? Why? What about the advice you gave me, when I told you about Damon and me. You told me no good would come from Draco finding out, and that since nothing happened, it was better not to admit it to anyone. Well, what good came from me knowing about his affair? You didn't even want me to tell him about kissing Blaise, but you couldn't wait to tell me that he cheated on me, and you told me right after my surgery, too, when I was so sick! What did you hope to accomplish? What were your motives?"

Harry had nothing to say to her accusations, because he had asked himself the same things, day after day, repeatedly. She continued, "It was almost like you couldn't wait to tell me that my husband was unfaithful!"

"Just a minute, Hermione!" Harry said with anger, "It wasn't as if I was chomping at the bit to tell my sick friend that her wanker husband cheated on her. I wish Blaise had never told me!"

"But like everything, the entire fault lies with Draco, right?" Hermione said. "You always blame him for everything!"

"Not everything, Hermione!" Harry yelled. "I never blamed him for your lies. Those are all yours! I have only ever blamed him for his own lies. He was selfish! He went out, got drunk and slept with another woman, and for no valid reason! He did it because he was in pain, and could only think of himself, and too bad for him! You were in pain, I was in pain, Ron was in pain, and Olivia was in pain! We all were in pain! But we all didn't go out and betray you! He did that, and he did it all on his own, so direct your righteous anger somewhere else, Hermione!" He started to turn away, but he rushed back.

"He blamed you for getting sick, Hermione! He was the one placing blame, not me!"

"You were still wrong to tell me!" she hissed.

"Once, again, like Draco, you are placing the blame at the wrong person's feet! Do you want Olivia to live in a world where people lie to each other? I can't be in that world with you, Hermione. I can only ever tell you the truth! I did it because I loved you, plain and simple. I'm sorry that you took so long to confront him! I had no idea you would keep the information bottled up inside you for a year! I had no idea that when you finally told him you knew, you would do it in such a way to hurt him by lying! I had no clue that you two would be apart for over a year! I didn't mean for you to be in the 'marriage limbo' that you're in. Just because I acknowledge all these things, however, doesn't make them my fault! All I can say is that I'm sorry, which is a lot more than either of you can say to each other." Harry stormed down the hall. He shouldered past Draco. Hermione turned around and saw Draco standing there. She turned around and walked the other way.

**Draco's regret: **

Draco wasn't letting her get away, not this time. He walked down the hallway after her, and his mind began to wander to that night almost two years ago. Was it really that long ago? That fateful day that started it all.

The day they found out she had cancer was the worst day of his life. He walked in the dining room, saw her crying, and picked her up and held her in his lap for hours. He held her until neither could cry any longer. He took her upstairs, helped her bathe, and then they went to bed. Two days later, she entered the hospital and she had her surgery.

The surgeon came out and confirmed that the pathology report showed that she did have cancer. It hadn't spread, it was contained in her right kidney, but she did have cancer. They all went to her room, while she slept. He knew he would have to be the one to tell her when she woke up. He didn't want to do that. Harry said, "You know she will hate it when she wakes up and sees us all hovering around her."

He took that as his cue to leave. He asked, "Do you chaps mind if I go out for some fresh air?" Harry and Ron both told him to go. They assumed he needed time alone. What he really needed was to escape. As he was leaving, Blaise gave him a dirty look. Draco knew he deserved that look. He walked out her room, left the hospital, and as soon as he could, he apparated to the Manor. Once there, he got drunk. There was nothing poetic about it. He just got pissed out of his skull.

No one lived there anymore. He was all alone. He heard a voice inside his head tell him to go back to her, go to his wife, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He needed complete and utter solitude, to make the doubt in his mind go away. He found the solitude he needed at the Manor, but he also found sorrow, sadness, and guilt. It was an isolated, lonely place. Being there made him feel everything he needed to feel, and more.

His wife had cancer, he didn't know what to do about it, and for the first time in his life, his money couldn't help him. He had helped her overcome her sadness and depression when they first married, but he didn't know how to help her with this. He left the Manor and ended up in some seedy bar in Diagon Alley. He drank until he could no longer see straight. He drank until he was too numb to feel. He drank because he knew he shouldn't, and the fact that he had freewill over what he should or shouldn't do was the last thing he had control over, so he would do it even if he shouldn't.

He met a woman at the bar. He didn't recall who spoke to whom first. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew he was going to have sex with her. Not because he desired her, not because he wanted to, but because he wanted to punish himself. He also, in a sick, twisted way, wanted to punish Hermione, and that was a thought he had been afraid to admit, until now.

He knew that he had it too good over the last few years. He knew it had to end sometime. He always knew his wife was too good for him and that someday she would probably come to her senses and leave him. He never in his wildest imagination thought she would get sick and possibly leave him that way.

Yes, his life was blessed, she blessed it, and it was high time he screwed it all up again. If he screwed up badly enough, perhaps fate would punish him and not his wife. He was the bad one, not her.

As he had sex with this woman, he never once thought about what he might lose. He never thought he would lose his family. He assumed it would remain his own dirty little secret, his own cross to bear, his own scarlet letter.

He didn't count on Blaise coming to find him the next morning. The bartender told Blaise that Draco had left with a witch. He went to the girl's flat, and took Draco home to shower and change. He never took Draco to task over what happened. He asked him about it, and Draco told him the truth. He knew Blaise cared too much to tell Hermione.

He didn't count on Blaise telling Potter. He didn't count on any of it, so when he arrived back at the hospital the next morning, Hermione hadn't even been aware that he had been missing. No one questioned him, or asked him what happened. To this day he doesn't know when Blaise told Harry, or exactly when Harry told Hermione.

It was only after her Valentine's Day lie, as he now called it, that Blaise finally told him that he was the one that told Potter, and that Potter told her. He wondered if all the times Hermione cried because of the pain, or threw up because of the treatments, and he was kind and attentive to her, did she already know about his affair? He was the biggest fool in the universe. He truly didn't deserve her. In hindsight, he knew why she didn't tell him right away that she knew. She needed to concentrate on getting better. She needed him. She needed some normalcy. He wished he could have given her that, and so much more.

Her little 'almost affair' with Damon Belpre happened just weeks before his real affair. The only difference was, she made the choice to say no, and he made the choice to say yes, and there was the major differences in their characters. That was why Draco Malfoy would never be good enough for Hermione Granger, and everyone knew it, but her.

**No big confrontation: **

Draco saw her enter Olivia's room. He waited outside for her. She came out about thirty minutes later. Draco was sitting on the floor, his back propped up against the wall. She came and sat next to him. She rubbed her eyes, and then, as if it were the natural state of things, she put her head on his shoulder.

"So, here's what we're going to do, Malfoy," Hermione said. "I'm going to forgive you, but seriously, I'm no one's idiot. This won't happen again, because you get no other chance. You'll forgive me as well. We'll forget that the last year happened. We will get back together, and continue with our lives as planned, with no more blaming the other. You will buck up and take things like a man, as they come." She brought her head up and looked at him. She said, "No more blaming me. If I get sick again, you will handle it. If you have something happen to you, we'll deal with it. If you lose all your hair, we won't cry about it, we'll face the problem head on, agreed?"

"Why am I the one who has to lose his hair?" he asked.

"Fine, I'll pick another analogy. If you get fat, we'll deal with it," she said.

"Again, not too keen on your little plans for me. Why can't you say, if you get a rash, we'll take care of it head on."

She frowned and said, "You are insipid! A rash? I had cancer, for goodness sakes. The least you could do for the sake of argument is have a simple case of baldness, or gain a bit of weight."

"Maybe my rash is on my face. That would be frightful, and debilitating," he laughed. He put his arm around her and she put her head back on his chest. "I used that wishbone this morning. I wished that I could have my family around me by the end of the day. This is not exactly the way I would have picked the events to unfold, but I think the magic is working, because here we are, and we're all together."

"I wish it was under different circumstances, too," she said. She put her hand on his leg. She said, "You should have used the damn thing a long time ago."

"Well forgive me for my shortsightedness. I didn't think in my wildest dreams that we would be apart for a year. A Year!" he said. "So, really, how are you? Is your health still okay?" He clasped her hand. He brought it up to his mouth and kissed her open palm.

She said, "I had my yearly exam and scan, and I'm fine, perfect." He looked at her earnestly, and she said, "No more lies, I promise. I'm fine."

"Good. So, I really don't have to keep telling you how sorry I am, right?" he asked.

"Heaven help me, but no. Just show me everyday. Roses every day of my life would be nice, no need for a dozen, and they don't even have to be red," she said.

He asked, "What else can I do for you, to show you that I love you?"

"You could write me a love sonnet, full of verses that rhyme, and words that have no real meaning," she joked.

"Well, there I draw the line. Poetry? HA!" he said. He let go of her hand and struggled to get a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Here, I did make up a pro/con list, as to why we should get back together."

She took the list and said, "When did you do this?"

"Just now, while you were in Olivia's room," he said.

"Help me stand," she said. He stood up first, and then helped her to stand. She walked over to a chair down the hallway and sat down. He came and sat next to her. She began to read the list.

"Reasons Hermione and Draco should stay married, or reasons they shouldn't, by Draco Malfoy." She rolled her eyes already. She began to read, "Pro, they love each other. Con, they are sometimes mean to each other. Pro, they belong together, Con, they sometimes hurt each other, Pro, they are each other's family, Con, they sometimes cause each other pain, and Pro, they love each other." She folded the list back up and said, "I'd like to point out that you put the last 'pro' on there twice, but I understand your reasoning. You needed more pros than cons, right?"

"Exactly," he said.

"Do you want to see my list?" she asked.

He shook his head in disbelief. "You are not seriously sitting there and telling me that you have a real pro/con list on whether or not we should be married!"

"No, my list is on whether I should forgive you or not," she said softly.

"I don't want to read it, just tell me the jest of it. What is the outcome?" he asked.

"We're sitting here together, aren't we? That should tell you the outcome," she said. "Let's go back and see Olivia for a while, and then go home."

"My home or yours?" he asked.

"We only have one home, Draco," she abolished him. "Harry, Ron and Blaise are moving my things back as we speak."

"How did they know we would get back together?" he asked.

"I told them we would, and before your get all indignant because I told them before I told you, just stop it right there and just be thankful for what you have," she scolded.

"Oh, I'm thankful. I am very thankful."

They went back to Olivia's room. She was awake when they walked in, so they told her the good news. She smiled. She had hoped for this, more than she had let herself ever hope. She told her parents that she was tired, and that they should go home, and they could come back later. They could see through her guise, her thin veil of deceit, but they did as she requested. They told her they would come back in the morning. James came back in right after they left.

**James Makes a Vow: **

James walked back in her room as the sun was setting in the sky. He drew her curtains shut, and turned back around to look at her. Her alabaster skin was paler than usual, and she felt cold to his touch. He took a blanket that was on the end of the bed, and pulled it over her. He didn't want to wake her, and he didn't want to hurt her, but he needed to hold her close, or he felt he might die.

He sat on her bed, gently, and moved his body so it was along side hers. He was careful not to jostle the bed. He made sure no part of him touch her besides his hand. He put his hand on her face, and touched it hesitantly, before moving it away.

He said, "I love you, Olivia, and I will never hurt you again. I won't ever cause you pain. I cannot live in a world that doesn't contain you. Your happiness is my happiness, and your sorrow is my sorrow. I am so sorry I hurt you. Please, forgive me. I vow to never hurt you again." He repeated that last part; because that was the part, which he meant the most. He leaned over, very carefully, and kissed her cheek. She remained sleeping. He didn't need her to hear. He knew that she knew what was in his heart. He shut his eyes, and fell asleep beside her.

**Draco and Hermione, Making Love: **

Her heart beat so loudly, that she knew he could hear. He traced his fingers down her face. He had seen this face every night in his dreams. He honestly couldn't recall one night of the past year that he hadn't dreamt of her. He put his hands on her face, and kissed her eyes, then her cheek, her forehead, her jaw, and finally her mouth. It was as if he was trying to remember what she looked like by tasting her. He finally let his lips carefully touch hers, and he felt at peace. She sighed, and opened her mouth to receive him, sliding her hands down his back, to hold him closer.

He ran his tongue over her lips. He looked at her and smiled. He kissed her harder, and looked again. After the third demanding kiss, and the third peek at her, he saw that her lips were swollen, and red, and he laughed when he thought that it had been a year since either one had kissed the other.

They helped the other to undress. Still standing, his hand went to the inside of her thigh, and he began to stroke her. She took a deep breath, and moved to sit on the bed. He sat beside her, and while they kissed, his hands roamed her breasts, her stomach, the still visible scar from her kidney surgery, the almost invisible scar from her c-section and hysterectomy, and then below.

He pushed her to lie down, and he stayed over her. He smiled and said, "I know words are inadequate at times like these, but I really love you, Hermione."

"I bet you say that to all your wives," she said.

"Only the ones named Hermione," he joked. He put his lips on her neck, and kissed his way down and around one breast. His hand fondled the other one, as his mouth sucked and licked the first one. She still had beautiful breast. Even after all these years. She was more beautiful than he had ever remembered. He thought if he told her that, she would make fun of him, so he remained quiet.

She wanted him more than she ever remembered wanting him. She had missed the feel of his strong hands roaming over her body, his lips on hers, the smell of his cologne, the silk of his hair, his masculine body when it covered her own. The feel of his long fingers when they dipped in her warmth, making her ready for more, eager for more. She was grateful that he was still the only man she had ever slept with, and would be the only man she would ever sleep with.

She put her hand on his neck, and she felt his rapid pulse. His hands stayed on her breasts, as his mouth traveled down her body. She fought for each breath that escaped her lungs. She never imagined they would share this again. She thought this was over.

He looked back up at her, and the look on his face proved to her that he would never leave her again. He smiled and her cold heart melted. He came back up to her mouth, to kiss her languidly once again. He went back to his task, and the feel of his lips and the fringe of his hair on her skin, set her very soul on fire. He found himself between her legs, and he licked her folds with a long lick. He looked back at her face. Her eyes closed, and her head turned to the side. She had one hand on his head, and the other clutching the headboard. Damn, he had missed her!

Her thighs clenched together as he busied himself at her center. She finally said, "Please, Draco!" He put two fingers inside her as his mouth sucked and licked at her. She started to moan, a deep, throaty, meaningful, moan, which started at the bottom of her belly and finally emitted through her mouth. Her waves came slowly at first. She almost didn't recognize them. As the tremors racked her body, he kissed his way back up her leg, her hip, her side, the side of her breast, around one nipple, and back to suck on her neck. He kissed her mouth, and kept kissing her, even as her body clenched and vibrated from her climax. She almost screamed into his mouth.

Her pulses sent pulses through his body, and he wanted her more than he could remember, and maybe more than he should. Just the sound of her moans and cries, sent an overwhelming hardness to his groin. He hadn't known how much he had missed her, and this, until it was presented to him again.

He had to have her now. He had to complete this; for fear that she might disappear again, in a puff of smoke. As her climax ended, and she began to relax from the aftershocks, his was just starting. He sucked on one breast again, as he began to guide himself into her tight core. Her eyes opened as she felt him enter her, slowly, so slowly, he entered her, just a bit at a time, almost as if he was torturing them both. He kissed her again as he finally entered her completely, and began to stroke her eagerly, his full length inside her, deep, to the tip, and beyond.

He reached down with one hand and rubbed her again, as his wave grew stronger, and he knew he would not last long. She jerked underneath him as he began his rise and fall, cresting as she too began to crest again. He continued his long caresses, as she brought her legs up and bent them at the knees, so that he could enter her deeper still. He arched his back and she arched hers at the exact same time, and they found a mutual understanding. As she continued to writhe and move under him, he continued to move and push, pushing her ever closer to her final ecstasy, and his final reward. He sank into her one last time, deeper than he ever had, and she brought her hands up and grasped his shoulders tight. He began to convulse above her, as she screamed under him.

He fell on top of her, as she still struggled to stop shuddering underneath him. His mouth found the nape of her neck, and then slid up to her cheek, to kiss her mouth once more.

He quickly rolled off her, and pulled her to his side. Her hand came up and touched his face. She looked up at him, and his eyes were shut. She didn't know if he was asleep or not. She said, "Draco, I have always loved you."

He opened his eyes. "I have always loved you."

"Don't be under the impression that this will be easy," she said. "We're going to have to work hard everyday of our lives, if we want to stay married until the end of our lives," she warned.

"I wouldn't expect it to be easy. Nothing about you, or us, has ever been easy. Nevertheless, I want to try. I will try. I'll do better this time, because I know it's my last chance, but give me this last chance, Hermione."

"I will. I'll give you your last chance, but it really is your last chance," she cautioned. She sighed and closed her eyes. She let herself fall to sleep in the arms of her husband. She never thought she would fall asleep in his arms again.

He was now wide-awake. He was afraid to sleep. He was afraid she would change her mind. He remained awake most of the night, and thought of all the ways he could make it up to her. He would make it all up to her, if it took him a lifetime, because he was giving her a lifetime.


	6. Day Six, Year Six

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Chapter 6, Day Six, April 6, Easter Sunday, Year Six**

* * *

**Asleep: ****  
**  
Hermione woke to the sounds of Olivia and Draco arguing. That was not an unusual event, however, the thing that shocked Hermione was the fact that her daughter was here. She wasn't supposed to be here, so why did she hear her daughter's voice? She wasn't coming home for Easter break, as least that was the last thing Hermione had heard. She was supposed to go on a trip with James and his uncle Charlie to Spain, to a dragon sanctuary. Why was she here?

Hermione sat up in bed and strained to listen, to see if she could get any clues as to why Olivia was home, and why she and her father were arguing. Olivia and Draco argued much more than Hermione and Draco, and that was saying something. She heard Olivia say the words, "James", "Selfish", "Idiot", and "I'll ask Mum."

Since Olivia's voice was higher pitch, and more of a shrill than Draco's was, Hermione really couldn't make out what Draco was saying in return. She heard Olivia run up the stairs. She slid back down on the bed, covered herself up, and placed her head back on the pillow. Let them argue, she was going back to sleep.

The door to her room opened and Olivia bounded in, shouting, "Wake up, Mum! Breakfast in bed!"

Olivia put a tray down over her mother's lap as she sat up. "What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, taking a bite of toast.

"Charlie got a rather bad burn a few days ago, so James and I had to postpone our trip, so I came home," she explained. Draco came in the room as well, sat in the window seat, and began to read his paper.

"Tell your mother what we were arguing about, because I know she heard us," Draco said without looking up.

"Well," said Olivia, giving her father a dirty look, "James' father told him that he had to spend Easter dinner with his family, and I wanted to spend it here, so we decided that we should all spend it together. I know that the Potters usually go to Molly and Arthur's on Easter, but I wondered if they would all come here, and they said yes, so I just need you to say yes."

Hermione looked terrified. "Oh, Olivia, I don't know if I can handle that many people at such a short notice."

"I told you," Draco said again, without looking up. However, he did have a very smug look on his face.

"It'll be fine, the house elves and I'll handle everything, Mum. Why, you could stay in bed until dinner, which is at 3 o'clock, by the way," Olivia said. "Besides, Uncle Harry insists that it's a family holiday, and said that James couldn't come here alone, and he doesn't like arguing with his father."

"You don't mind arguing with yours," Draco said, this time looking right at his daughter. He put his paper on the bedside table and sat down on the bed with his wife and daughter. He picked up the orange juice glass, took a drink, and added, "Anyway, you know that you mum gives the little elves every holiday off anymore."

Olivia frowned. Hermione nodded. "Yes, since two years ago, you recall that, so the answer's no. You need to call James, and tell him."

"It's too late, Mum!" Olivia said, standing. "James said his grandparents were so thrilled! And we aren't talking that many people! James' family is five, Uncle Ron's family is five, Molly and Arthur, Uncle George's family is three, Uncle Bill's family is three, and of course, Teddy will come with them, and Uncle Blaise. That's only…" she counted in her head, "twenty-three people when you count us." She frowned and said, "Wow that is a lot." She ran out the door saying, "I'll do all the work, Mum. I've got to get James to come help me!"

As Olivia ran out of the room, Draco said, "I cut out an interesting article about some excavation of some magical castle in Wales, and how it's related to Helga Hufflepuff." He reached in his pocket and unfolded an article he had cut out of his paper. "I knew you would cut it out anyway, so I did it for you."

"Thanks, darling," Hermione said, taking the article and reading it. She took the pair of glasses that Draco had on top of his head, and put them on so she could read better. They always shared glasses.

Olivia came back in the room and said, "When you're done reading, Mum, I need to talk to you."

Draco stood back up and said, "Olivia, your mother said no, so stop trying to butter her up."

"How is, 'I need to talk to you', buttering her up?" Olivia asked.

Draco looked down at his wife, who had decided to read the article later, and he said, "Your daughter called me an idiot earlier. She has no respect at all."

Olivia said, "Your husband called me a spoiled brat!"

Hermione put the tray off her legs, and her feet on the floor. She said, "Draco, you are an idiot sometimes, and Olivia, you are a spoil brat sometimes. Now, what do you want?"

"I'll cook the whole dinner! James is coming over in a minute to help me, and he's bringing two of their elves, and you know they are free elves, too, and they want to come help, and even his little sister is coming to help. So, please, can I do this? I'm 17 ½ years old, James is 17, and Lily is 13. We'll do it all. Please, Mummy."

"Please, Mummy," Draco mocked. He plopped back down on the bed and said, "You make me sick. Maybe I wanted a quiet Easter holiday alone with my wife! Did you ever consider that?"

"No," Olivia snapped back.

Hermione was already in the bathroom, running her tub. "Fine, as long as I don't have to do any work, go to it, but we all know you cook about as well as I do, so you better be sure the elves do the majority of the cooking."

"No one loves me," Draco said.

Olivia glared at her father and said, "You know, when I graduate from school next year, I won't be coming home as much, and you'll regret that you're so hateful toward me."

Draco asked, "Where are you going to be? You can't afford your own house, and university isn't cheap, so as long as I pay your way, you'll come home when I want you to!"

Hermione shut the door to the bathroom, but not tight, and sank in the tub. She heard Olivia said, "Well, James and I might want to start our own traditions."

She heard Draco get up from the bed and bellow, "You won't be living with James Potter in a year!"

"We will if we're married. We plan on getting married a year after school is over," Olivia said. Hermione sat upright in the tub. That was the first she had heard of this news.

Draco barged in and said, "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I did," Hermione said, more than shocked. She was slightly appalled.

Olivia came in and said, "Why is this news to you all? You always knew we would marry someday…surely you did."

"Some privacy, please," Hermione said. Neither Draco nor Olivia moved. They both looked at the other, assuming Hermione meant the other. Hermione said, "You know what, life is too short to worry about silly things right now. So, if you both will excuse me, I have to get ready for a houseful of people apparently, and Olivia, you have a lot of work to do, so leave, and Draco, you need to get your paper and come in here and read it for the second time like always, please." She shut her eyes, and tried to let the hot water relax her tired muscles. Did her daughter really say she was getting married in two years? Heaven help them all.

**Draco**** and Hermione Alone in the Bathroom: **

Hermione took an extra long bath that morning. Draco re-read his paper and then helped her out of the tub. As she was dressing, he said, "I have very few things in this life that I look forward to, but Easter dinner alone with my wife and daughter is one of them. I don't want all those Weasleys here with all their Weasley relatives. Its bad enough we always have to spend Christmas with them. Yuck. This ruins everything."

"Since when do you revere Easter so much? Anyway, Draco, we have everyday together, so really, what does it ruin? By the way, did you give Olivia her Easter Egg and basket?" Hermione asked, brushing her hair.

"Yes, the ungrateful little thing. I shouldn't have given her anything. Which reminds me," he said, going into his closet. He came back out with a little white box tied up with a golden thread. "Happy Easter, Hermione."

She turned from her dressing table and smiled. "You got me a present?"

"Well, yes, didn't you get me something for Easter?" he asked, knowing that she did. She always did.

"Yes, but it's not here yet," she lied. It was in her top dresser drawer. She opened the box. Inside was a small pendant, shaped like a Celtic cross. There was a small stone in the middle.

He said, "Look in the stone."

She did, and inside was a poem, written so small, but she could somehow read it. It read:

_The love I feel for you, keeps me safe and warm__  
__It is faded just a little; it has been tattered and torn,_  
_It brings me comfort at night when I am feeling blue,_  
_It helps me through the bad times, and brings me safely through,_  
_Every time I sleep beneath its shield, shining bright,_  
_It protects me until the dark turns to morning light,_  
_I see my lifetime in this love, and this love will never die._

Hermione read the words aloud and turned to Draco. "That's very beautiful. Who wrote that, it doesn't seem familiar to me?" Hermione asked.

"I wrote it, for you. You can always wear my love for you next to your heart, and if you ever doubt it, you can read the words, and doubt no more," he said plainly. He reached for the necklace, and placed it around her neck. He touched it lightly, and let it fall next to her heart.

She scowled, not the reaction he expected, but then she said, "Well, this puts my present to you to shame. I bought you socks."

"You better be joking," he said. She went over to her top dresser drawer, and pulled out a box. She threw it to him. He opened it and inside the box was a pair of green striped socks. "SOCKS!" he shouted.

She laughed and said, "Not really, look under the socks." He threw the socks on the floor, and under the socks was a new watch fob, for the watch she gave him so long ago, before they even started to date. The watch belonged to her father. "Wow, this is really nice and it looks expensive."

"That's all that counts, that it's expensive, right?" she asked. "I mean, some people think it's the thought that counts, but you and I know it's the cost, right?"

"Exactly, Granger, thank you." He walked over and put his arms around her waist, and she put her head on his chest. "I love you, Hermione."

"That's good to know," she answered, "because it makes more sense that way, since I love you, too." She kissed him and added, "Have you given my suggestion from last night any more thought?"

Draco let go of his wife, had a set look on his face and said, "I thought you said you would give me time to think about it." He turned, left the room, and slammed the door.

Well, Hermione knew how to clear a room, didn't she?

**The Suggestion: **

Hermione was a woman on a mission. She just had to get Draco to agree. Normally, if there was something she wanted as much this, and Draco didn't support it, she would go ahead and do it anyway, but she couldn't do this without him. She literally couldn't do it without him. She presented her plan to him several months ago, and at first he seemed awkwardly embarrassed by her suggestion, and then outwardly indignant. She waited a few days and tried again. He said an outright 'no' that day. She made out one of her famous pro/con list a week later. She left it on his bedside stand. She knew he saw it, because she found it crumpled on the floor. She even knew he had read it, because he had added one big con, "I DON'T WANT TO!"

Yesterday she ambushed him in the shower. She started by undressing and climbing in with him. He wasn't even aware of her devious intent. He was still a man, after all, and she was still a woman, that much was sure. They made love in the shower, and then after, while they were washing each other, she talked to him about it again. This time, he had to listen, because he was covered in soap and suds. He even stayed and listened as she dried off, and he stood there in a towel. However, even with the shower ambush, he told her "no".

The last time she mentioned it to him was last night, in bed. They lay there, cuddling. He seemed on edge, tense. He had to know she was going to ask him about it once more. She didn't disappoint. This time she asked him why he was so against the idea. He told her to stop playing dirty, and that she was playing on his emotions. She said, "No, I just really want to know why." Instead of telling her his reasons, for the first time, he told her he would seriously think about it.

Therefore, she left it alone, until just now, and he ran out of the room. She felt like she was going one-step forward and two steps back. The thing was, Hermione was every bit as stubborn as Draco was, and he knew it, so he had to know she wouldn't stop until he at least gave her a good reason why he didn't want to have another child. She had always wanted more children, but fate had other plans, and she was only blessed with Olivia. She could no longer have children, but for years, she had pestered him about adopting. He had always told her that adoption was okay for some people, but not for him. If he had another child, he would only want it to be his natural child.

She hadn't thought about there being other ways until a day a few months ago when she was having lunch at the Potter's house with Ginny. She told her that she had recently been yearning to have another child again. She had wanted this for years now. Olivia was almost grown, and though Hermione had her writing, and her philanthropic work, she felt empty. She told Ginny that sometimes her arms actually ached to hold another child.

"Why not use a surrogate mother?" Ginny suggested. "Muggles do that everyday. That way, Draco's sperm could be used, and it would be his child."

"One problem, Gin," Hermione pointed out, "I had a complete hysterectomy after Liv was born. I couldn't produce the egg."

"You can have one of mine. I'm sure they're still good," Ginny laughed.

Hermione said, "It's not really a matter to make fun of, Ginny."

"I'm not having a laugh at your expense!" Ginny said seriously. "I mean it. In fact, Harry and I have already had this discussion. I have been wanting to suggest this to you for years, but Harry told me to keep it to myself, but now that you suggested it, I feel okay to tell you."

"You suggested it," Hermione pointed out.

"Well, for the purpose of this story we'll tell Harry, you suggested it and I agreed." Ginny took a large drink of her water and put the glass back down, deciding to choose her words carefully. "The thing is, I couldn't carry the child, because first, I don't ever want to be pregnant again, and second, I don't think I could give up a child that I carried for nine months, but I know in my heart I could do this for you, and I would only think of it as my best friend's child. And, it would connect all of us, finally. Make us like a real family, not that we aren't already."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Harry pointed this out to me, and I hadn't even though on it until he said it, but Olivia and James would both be this baby's siblings, and I would connect it to Ron and all the Weasley's, and it would be Draco's biological child. You would be its rightful mother, and Harry would love it because it came from all of us. It's perfect, plus, it would be a pureblood," Ginny concluded. She had given this a lot of thought.

"It would probably be hard to find a surrogate here in the magical world," Hermione reasoned. "And it would have to be a witch."

"Not that hard," Ginny said, "Because I've already talked to a solicitor about that as well. Please, Hermione, present this to Draco, and just see if it will make a difference. It's a solid plan. I'm serious about this. Talk to him about it, or I will."

"You won't," Hermione laughed.

"Now who's taking it too lightly? I will, you know that," Ginny said.

After their lunch, Hermione thought about it all day, and finally, at the end of the day, she had to smile. Ginny was right. It was the solution to her problem, and Hermione had not even thought of it.

And that was the very suggestion she proposed to Draco, which caused all this discord over the last few days.

**Draco****'s thoughts: **

Draco ran out of their bedroom as fast as he could. His wife was mad! Crazy! When she first made the suggestion a few weeks before, he thought she was joking, but when the reality set in, and she kept making the same suggestion repeatedly, he realized something. He was married to a mad woman.

He told her, "I can't have a child with Ginny! That would be like 'incest'!" She told him the mechanics of it, and even slipped some 'pamphlets' in his paper one morning, and the 'No actually having sex with little red' aside, he didn't really want another child.

He thought things were perfect the way they were right now. Olivia was almost grown, and Hermione and Draco had all the free time in the world to do whatever they wanted. If he told her that was his reason, she would think he was being selfish, but hell, she knew she married a selfish man, so he shouldn't have to tell her the reasons. A simple no should suffice.

Not with Hermione, and he should have know that.

She had been relentless lately. Even playing dirty by seducing him first and then popping it on him. How dare she do that! When did she become so devious? She had been married to him for too long, apparently.

He also wasn't a fan of the thought of ejaculating in a little cup. Hermione wouldn't count that as a valid reason, either.

He went back upstairs to find her. He didn't want this to linger between them any longer. He needed to put this to rest. He had an idea.

**Confronting Hermione: **

He walked in the bedroom, and she was sitting in the window seat, reading. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"I'm reading 'Alice in Wonderland', and before you make a smart comment about it being over my head or something, let me remind you that I always like to re-read the childhood classics," she said.

He sat beside her, took the book from her hands, and put it on the floor. "Your hands are cold."

"Warm heart," she joked.

"Listen Hermione; let's get this out of our systems right now. I don't want another child because I just don't want one, end of story. I know that isn't a reason to you, but it is to me. I like having you all to myself. I like being able to come and go as I please. I like that Olivia is no longer in nappies…"

She interrupted, "Let me point out that you changed her nappies exactly three times."

"Well, you and the nanny were so much better at that than I," he said with a smile. "The point is that a child is a lifetime commitment. We aren't young anymore, Hermione."

"We aren't old, either. I am 42, and you'll be 42 this June. Tell me in whose world is that old."

"But, Olivia is almost grown," he said.

"That's even more reason why we should do it now," she said. Hermione had actually already discussed this with Olivia, and she was ecstatic about the prospects, but she didn't want to tell Draco that. Olivia was even happier with the thought that the baby would be related to both her and James. Hermione told Olivia not to get her hopes up, because her father had yet to agree, and until he did, there was nothing they could do. Olivia asked her mother if she wanted her to talk to her dad about it, to try to convince him. Hermione told her no, not to mention it. Hermione wondered if that was the real reason Olivia came home for break. If that was the real reason, in which Olivia wanted this 'big family' Easter dinner. Hermione knew her little girl could be conniving; she was Draco Malfoy's daughter.

"What if you would become sick again, and leave me alone with a little child." He couldn't look in her eyes, because that single statement was the one major reason he said no, and the one he had the most trouble admitting.

"Draco, I'm well, and even if I would become sick again, don't you think another child would be a comfort to you. Besides, let's say I do die first," she started. He gave her a dirty look. "Wouldn't you rather have a child who wouldn't put you in a nursing home some day? Because, I guarantee, Olivia would put you away the first chance she got." She smiled at him.

He had to smile back, because that little statement held some truths.

"But you wouldn't really be its mother," Draco said.

"Are you kidding me?" Hermione said. "One doesn't have to give birth to a child to be its mother. I would be its mother in every conceivable way, and it would be a part of you and Olivia, so I think that would make the bond even closer. I want this Draco, I really do, but if you really, really don't, and you don't want me to mention it again, I won't." She stood up and walked out of the room, but he could hear that she had begun to cry.

Why did he always make his wife cry?

**The Picnic: ****  
**  
He went downstairs and packed a picnic basket. He found Olivia, James, Lily, and Al, all in the kitchen, with two of Potter's little elves, making a large mess in his opinion. There had at least better be something edible today, or Draco would be seriously put out. He went to find Hermione, picnic basket in hand. He found her sitting outside, on a bench. "Hey, just the woman I was hoping to find out in my back garden. Let's go for a little picnic, Hermione. Would you like that?"

At first Hermione thought, he was trying to gloss over everything by being sweet, but then she saw no malevolent purpose in his manner, so she smiled and said yes. It was a nice warm April day. A picnic might be nice.

They walked along the massive acres of their property, along fields whose brilliant, vibrant, colours sang out the glory of spring. All around them was green grass, bright yellow daffodils, and tulips in many shades of many colours. The trees were beginning to bud, and the sky was so blue that it broke through their silence with a deafening roar.

Green fields rolled over the earth like a blanket. The sun was high in the sky and warm on their faces as they walked hand in hand. The wind blew so softly around them, that they felt like it was tickling their skin. The earth, which for months seemed like it was dying, was awakening with rebirth. March came in like a lion, and went out like a lamb, and now that it was April, the showers that were anticipated had yet to arrive. It was the perfect day. This was a day for the young and the young at heart. Everything that was once dead would rise again, just like a resurrection. The earth was resurrected each spring, a testament, just like Easter, in a way.

They found a sunny patch of hillside, overlooking a valley below, and stopped. It was a mutual decision. Draco put the picnic basket down and placed a small blanket on the earth. He held Hermione's hand and helped her to sit. They sat on that little hill, overlooking the valley below, in a reciprocated silence, they shared their lives, dreams, and hopes, as they always did. Draco looked over at his wife and said one word. "Okay."

She was cautiously optimistic, but still she asked, "Okay, what?"

"Let's have another child," he answered. He wasn't just saying that to appease her. It was something about their walk, and their silent appreciation at the bounty before them, that changed his mind. The time was right, and he knew it. "Yes, I want to have another child. Okay, let's do it."

"Draco, you have to say yes for you, not just for me," she said.

"I am saying yes for me," he said, because in the end, what made her happy made him happy. He could give her this, and it would only begin to pay a small portion of everything she had ever given to him. Yes, he wanted another child. He did.

She smiled and touched his cheek. "Thank you." It was more of an 'I love you', than a 'thank you', but it seemed important and appropriate to say.

Draco took Hermione by the hand and kissed the top of it. The warmth of her body more than fulfilled what he felt was lacking in his heart. All they were doing was sitting side by side, but somehow, even if that was all they had, it was more than he thought he deserved.

"Granger," he stated, touching her face and smiling.

She smiled back and said, "Malfoy."

**Love on a Blanket**:

He laced his fingers with hers. He put her hand back to his mouth, and planted small kisses on the top of her captive hand, and along her wrist. She had on long sleeves, so he had to stop at her wrist, or he would have kissed her all the way up her arm. He looked at her face, and her eyes were closed, as she concentrated solely on his kisses.

He listened to her breathing, which coincided with his touch, and as he continued to touch her…her face, her neck, her collarbone, she relaxed and fell against the blanket. Her breathing became slower and shallower, as his touch became slower and more calculated. He looked at her closed eyes and he reached for her face. Still holding her hand with one hand, he touched her closed eyelids with the other. His hand moved from her face, down her neck, to her collarbone, to her shoulder and down her arm, in one fluid movement. He brought it back up the same path, and ended at her chin, which he tilted upward slightly so he could have better access to her mouth.

He leaned over and kissed her lips, gradually and unquestionably. He pulled away and she opened her eyes. He let go of her hand and turned so he was lying beside her on the blanket. She turned to her side so she was facing him.

He brought his hand up and stroked her hair. He stroked it softly. When they were young, he always imagined it would be stiff and springy, but it was the softest thing he had ever felt in his life. He had spent a lifetime loving this woman, yet a lifetime of love wasn't enough. She deserved so much more. He didn't want to waste one second with her. As he stroked her hair, her hands were on his shoulders, rubbing up and down his arms, and coming around to his back, to bring him closer. He wanted her now and always.

She moved closer to him and positioned her body so it was partially under his. He reached up and removed his shirt. He started to sprinkle kisses all over her face, watching her resolve melt away, shattering before him like a springtime renewal. He was always a kind and gentle lover, in contrast to the somewhat ruthless and selfish person he could be. He placed his hungry mouth down on top of hers, his hand going down and removing her shirt over her head. If they were going to have a baby, they might as well have the pretense of making love first. Cement the deal, so to speak.

His lips danced with her lips. Soon, their hands and mouths were all over each other. He turned to his back, and she leaned over his chest, and kissed her way down to his stomach. She was still enthralled by his physical beauty. She always thought he was beautiful. In her opinion, no other word would suffice to describe him. He lifted her by her waist slightly, so she was straddling him, with her legs on both sides of his thighs.

Hermione removed her bra, exposing her bare breast. He didn't care what anyone said, she was still the most beautiful woman he knew, and would ever know. He placed both hands on her breasts. He grabbed them and massaged them softly, his caresses so light and sweet, but yet torturous also. He sat up slightly so he could kiss her neck. He bit down and sucked on the tender skin under her earlobe.

He picked her up again, moving her off his body, and placed her on her back on the blanket. He led a trail of wet kisses from her neck to her breasts, around each mound, to the valley in between. He slowly, almost meticulously, lowered her jeans off her legs. His hands were steady, and his gaze never left hers. When he sat up to remove her clothes, he took the opportunity to remove his own. He put one breast in one hand, while still kneeling on the ground beside her. He dipped his head and sucked on her nipple, and then he once again placed his body on top of hers.

He sat up slightly, so he was above her and his hands travel down her body. He pulled down her knickers and she smiled an almost impish smile at him. He said, "Having dirty thoughts there, Granger?"

"No, but I think you are," she said. She brought her hand up to trace his nipples, finally resting her hands on the waistband of his boxers. She said, "What's under there, anyway? I've always wondered."

"Have you now?" he laughed. "Let's find out, shall we?" He pushed his boxers off, and then he took a hold of both of her hands and interlaced her fingers in his. He laid the full length of his hard, muscled frame against her soft agile body, his hardness on her lower abdomen. He licked her breasts, her abdomen, and her ribs showing through her skin. He put both hands on her waist. He could almost cover her waist with his hands. He saw the scars on her stomach and he had a slight pang of pain pass through him, but then gave it no more thought.

She felt very exposed, out in the open like this. They were on their own property, which was well protected against Muggles, with enchantments and charms, but what if Olivia came to look for them. She let that errant thought pass through her mind quickly as he began torturing her again with his mouth all over her body.

Hermione pushed down on his shoulders. He took her hands in his again and placed them over her head. He suddenly ravished her with more kisses. He placed one leg between hers, pressing between her legs with his thigh. He could feel how wet and warm she was, and it was all for him. Her desire matched his need, which was still pressed against her hipbone. He entered her very leisurely. He kept his eyes opened and she did as well, and though they were both lost in the moment, they were mindful and fully aware of each other. As the pleasure became more and more intense, both finally had to avert their eyes. He shut his and she looked over his shoulder.

Her hands went to his back, urging him onward. He needed no urging, he knew what he was doing, and he knew what they both needed. The rapture came quickly, as white-hot streaks passed from his body to hers, and exploded all around them.

She began to make cooing noises, which were not at all foreign to him, because over the years, they had both said and done everything imaginable during their lovemaking. This time was slightly different though, because she kept repeating a phrase, almost a mantra. She said, "I love you," repeatedly. The sound of her voice was laced with passion, but he also could actually 'feel' her love with each word she uttered. As his end came near, he yelled out that he loved her, too.

They both collapsed at the same time. They were lovers, after all, so they stayed in each other's embrace, he on one side, and she on the other. He had to keep her close, so he could feel the heat from her body on his. He said, "There, now we made love, and out of that love, we will have another child."

If she had not thought it was so sweet, she probably would have thought it sounded corny, but as it was, it was right and she knew it and so did he.

**After The Lovemaking**:

They cleaned up and dressed, and began to eat the fruit and sandwiches he had packed. Lying down with his head on her lap, he looked up at her as she ate some grapes. He said, "This time, do you want a boy or a girl."

"I know you want an answer, but all I can say is that I don't care which it is. I just also really hope we don't have to wait long."

"Nine months, as least," he said, reaching up to steal one of her grapes.

"Well, of course, nine months, idiot," she laughed.

"That's where our daughter gets it from," he said, looking up at her. She stroked his hair. He said, "With this child, I'll get to instill all my mannerism and quirkiness into him or her. This child will be like me."

"Heaven help us all," she joked.

He sat up quickly and it startled her. He reached up and took the grapes, and pushed her on her back. He held her down with one hand on her shoulder and held the grapes far from her reach. "You don't get the grapes back until you offer me a sincere and truthful apology."

"I was done eating, anyway," she said.

They heard a voice far off in the distance calling, "Mum, Dad!" They both knew it was Olivia, and they heard the urgency in her voice. They sat up quickly, leaving the blanket and the picnic basket, and started down the hill, as Olivia started running up the hill. When a child's voice calls to their parent, they have no choice but to answer.

"Mum, James cut his finger, and it's bleeding really badly!" Olivia yelled. Hermione apparated directly to the house.

**James**** is bleeding: ****  
**  
Finding James in the kitchen with a towel around his hand, and his little sister crying beside him, Hermione rushed to him, with Draco and Olivia right behind her. She walked him over to the sink and unwrapped the towel. It was a deep cut, but nothing vital. Hermione knew that sometimes cuts on the hands and fingers bled more than others, making them seem worse. She cleaned the wound, and then with her wand said a healing spells. She then kissed his finger, out of instinct, and smiled at him. He smiled back to her. James had one thought, that she would make the new baby a wonderful mother.

When Olivia first told him last week about the crazy plan their mothers had to use his mother's egg, her father's sperm, and to have a surrogate carry the baby, well, he laughed. He thought she was playing an April fools joke on him, one day early.

When he saw how serious she was, he stopped laughing.

"It's not a joke, James!" Olivia huffed as she walked down the hall toward Gryffindor tower. He ran beside her and pulled her around.

"Sorry Liv, but really? Why would your mum and dad want to have more children at this stage in the game?" he asked.

"Because they do, and that's not your concern!" she said. He could tell he touched a nerve, so he reached out and cupped her cheek. Everyone always compared Olivia to Hermione, but James always thought her personality was more like her father's in many ways. She was easily defensive, she could be somewhat selfish at times, and she was quick to anger at other times. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Livy. I love you, so let's not be angry with each other. It's just weird to think I'll have a little brother or sister, and I won't be able to acknowledge it as such," he admitted.

"Well, I don't know what my parents plan on telling the child, but knowing my mum, she'll always want to be truthful to the child, so it'll probably grow up knowing the truth. Just think, James, this little baby will be a link for our families. It'll be part of you and me. Next to having our own children some day, which by the way I want only two, this child will link us, for all time," she said passionately.

He looked at her beautiful face, and he realized she was right. He also realized he didn't have a say in the matter. What would happen would happen.

He was slightly bothered by the fact that she wanted to cancel their planned Spring break trip with his Uncle Charlie, so that they could go home, because she wanted to get the 'whole family' together in the hope of convincing her father. Apparently, Draco wasn't too keen on the idea of having another child. Didn't he know that it would probably be good to have another child, because Olivia would probably put him in a nursing home someday?

As Hermione brought his finger to her lips and said, "All better," he thought of all of this and smiled. He hugged her and said in a low voice, so that only she might hear, "You will be a wonderful mother to my brother or sister."

She pulled away from his embrace and smiled at him. She loved James. He was so open and giving, just like Harry, and perfect for her daughter. She thought the same thing about him, so she leaned forward, and regardless of the others in the room, whispered in his ear, "You will be the perfect big brother to my baby. You will be this child's Harry." He knew immediately what she meant, and he was honoured.

**What a Mess: ****  
**  
Hermione got her first look at the mess that was at one time her kitchen. "What in the world!" she said, looking around.

"We'll clean it all up, Mum," Olivia said. Hermione turned and gave her daughter a look that Olivia immediately deciphered as, 'You had better.'

Draco took Hermione's hand and said, "Just close your eyes, and don't think about the mess." He wanted to tell her that she should have expected a bigger mess when she agreed to let the kids take on Easter dinner, but he kept quiet.

Olivia walked through to the living room with her parents and as they sat on the couch, she sat on the coffee table and she said, "Dad, I want to talk to you about something, if you don't mind."

Draco cocked one eyebrow, smirked at her, and said, "What?" in a clipped, annoyed, tone.

Hermione sat back and covered her smile with her hand. Olivia said, "Dad, Mum already told me about how she wants another child, and about Aunt Ginny's and Uncle Harry's offer and I think it's a wonderful idea, and I know you probably don't care what I think and you probably think it's not any of my business, but Daddy, I want you to keep an open mind, and really think about things before you say 'no' outright." She had said such a long, run-on sentence, that she hardly had time to take a breath. She took one now.

"Okay, you convinced me, I say yes, let's do this," he said seriously. He turned to Hermione and said, "Olivia has convinced me."

Olivia jumped up and down on the table, and then threw herself over her parents' bodies. She hugged her father and said, "Oh, Daddy, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She bounded from the room and yelled to James, "I'm going to be a sister!"

Hermione looked at Draco and said, "Her head is already almost too big to fit through doors. Do you really want her to think that she was the one that finally convinced you?"

"Who cares," he laughed. She placed her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

She got up from the couch and told Draco she was going to go see if the kids needed any help. He knew she couldn't help but to help them.

**Draco**** Remembers: **

Draco looked over and saw the 'picture Ferris wheel' that he had made for Hermione for Christmas a few years ago. He went over and tapped it with his wand, and said, "Show me Olivia." Pictures of Olivia began to dance before his eyes. Her newborn pictures, taken by the Muggle nurses when she was just a few days old, came up first. He laughed when he saw her little face, and how it was all red and smashed up, her dark curls evident even at a few days old.

The picture from her first birthday, a smile already plastered on her cake-covered face, and her reaching out for the camera, and saying, "Daddy", came up next. Really, she said, 'da da', but Draco knew what his little one-year-old daughter meant.

Pictures splashed before them of Olivia and Hermione walking in the waves on their first trip to the beach. Hermione had to pick the little toddler up as the waves came up as high as she was.

His favourite picture flashed by next. It was Draco and Olivia, on Christmas day, when she was five, and she opened her present, ran to his arms, and said, "Thank You, Daddy! I love you."

Draco felt overwhelmed while looking at these pictures and more. Her childhood played out before him, and he knew that he wanted to do this again, with another child. He did. He wanted this as much as Hermione did.

Hermione stood silently in the doorway, and watched, tears in her eyes. She knew in that instant, that her husband wanted another child as much as she wanted it. Olivia, who came up behind her, her arms around her mother's waist, brought her out of her daydream.

"You had already convinced him, hadn't you?" she asked her mum softly.

"No, I think he convinced himself," Hermione said. She turned to Olivia and asked, "When do our guests arrive?"

"An hour. James, Al, and Lily are setting the table," Olivia said, "Because I have to go up and change."

"Do you have time for me to show you something?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Olivia said.

**Up in the Attic: ****  
**  
Hermione took her daughter's hand and apparated with her to the attic. She pulled over a box, which contained memories of her own childhood. She had already shared the contents of this box so often with Olivia that she thought it held no more surprises. She was wrong.

Hermione took out a children's book, which was worn and tattered. She had a copy of the same book, but hers wasn't this old. "Whose book is that?" Olivia asked.

"It belonged to my mother," Hermione said. Olivia already felt like she knew her grandparents, though they died so many years before she was born. Her mother opened the book and said, "This was my mum's, and she gave it to me when I was little. She used to read it to me while I was still in her womb, just as I read it to you. I bought you your own copy, instead of giving you this copy, because somehow, I couldn't part with this. It's just a silly little story about a mother duck and her ducklings, but it's what my mother wrote on the inside, which was important. She wrote this the day I was born, and she said she knew she was already in love with me. If you recall, I inscribed your copy, too."

"I know, that's why that book is my favourite, and why even to this day I take it to Hogwarts with me every year, so if I miss you, I just take it out and read it," Olivia admitted.

Hermione looked shocked. "Really? I used to do the same thing, that's funny." Hermione opened the book and said, "Do you want to hear what my mother wrote to me?"

"Very much so," Olivia said. The two women sat side by side on an old crate, and with the afternoon light wafting through the attic window, the dust particles flying around in the air, Hermione read to her daughter what her own mother had written to her.

_"Gentle laughter and a wondrous smile. Endearing beauty, with questioning eyes. Overwhelming fulfillment, full of surprise. These are the things I feel with Hermione in my life.___

_Song of great beauty, song of life. The gentle daybreak as day turns to night. The hopeful feeling of pure delight. These are the things I feel with Hermione in my life."_  
  
Hermione looked at her daughter and smiled. "That's pretty, Mum. Your mother had a way with words."

"Yes, she did."

"I have your words to me memorized," Olivia said. She began to quote the poem her mother inscribed in her book. "It's called, Olivia's song. It goes like this:

_Close your eyes, __  
__Sweet lullabies,_  
_Where does the sun go?_  
_When day turns to night._

_Nighttime fades away,_  
_To the awakening of the day,_  
_Open your eyes, _  
_And remember to stay awake._

_Birds sing, sweet melodies,_  
_Where do they go, when the earth is covered in snow?_  
_Cold wind may blow, and sunshine may forget to glow, _  
_but __Olivia__ will always echo the love that we show.___

_See the stars with a child's eyes, _  
_your life is before you, _  
_as you watch the sun, the moon, and the earth collides, _  
_you will see more than you will ever know."_

Draco stood in the shadows of the attic stairs, listening to his wife and daughter and feeling extremely sentimental, he took the last few steps and said, "Enough of this sentiment shite, we have guests arriving soon. Let's get ready."

Olivia smiled at her mum, and ran past her dad, kissing his cheek as she went. Draco walked up and took his daughter's place next to Hermione. He took her hand. He kissed it. No words needed spoken.

**Easter Dinner:**

At dinner that afternoon, surrounded by Weasleys and Potters, Draco knew one thing: This new child, whoever it might be, would be a Malfoy first, but it would also belong to all of them. What a lucky child it would be. He looked over at Hermione, who sat to his left, and he took her hand under the table. He leaned over, kissed her cheek, and said, "Our child is going to be a gift to everyone, won't it?"

She smiled and nodded.

* * *

_Chapter End Notes:_

_My daughter is adopted, so somehow I wanted to share with everyone how much a person can love an adopted child, because I couldn't love anyone more than I love her, so I had always intended for them to adopt a child, but then I got this idea. I don't know yet if the child will be a boy or girl, but it arrives next chapter, and __Olivia__ graduates next chapter, too! Thanks so much!)_


	7. Day Seven, Year Seven

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Chapter 7, Day seven, June 15th, Saturday, Year seven**

* * *

**5:30 am****: ****  
**  
Hermione heard the cry first. She waited, just a moment, to see if she would hear it again. When she didn't hear it again, she shut her eyes once more. Five minutes later, there was another cry. Draco nudged her arm and said, "What sort of mother are you? Are you going to let your baby cry?"

"You have legs," was her answer.

"Come on, Hermione, I went at 3:00 am, and you know it," he said.

"My daughter is graduating today. I have a lot to do, and I need my rest," she said.

"She's my bloody child, too!" he answered.

"As is the wee one crying!" Hermione responded.

"Hermione…please, if you love me, go to the baby!" Draco said.

"The nanny must have gone," Hermione said, as she sat up in bed. The baby was no longer crying. Back when they had Olivia, Hermione was against having a nanny, and finally conceded, although she still took the majority of the care of her firstborn. This time, she wasted no time advertising for a nanny. She was older and wiser. Their previous Nanny had retired, but they found a glorious woman named Maude and Hermione loved her to pieces.

Hermione fell back down against the pillows, and Draco said, "Maybe the nanny didn't get to the baby. Maybe the baby stopped breathing or something."

"You are an idiot," she said.

"Go check," he said. He pushed on her back.

"Draco Malfoy I am not above striking you!" she said. There was a knock on their door.

"See, the baby came to see you," Draco said.

"I doubt the baby's knocking," Hermione said. She sat back up and said, "Come in."

Maude came in with a little baby in her arms. She said, "She wants her poppa, I'm afraid."

Hermione laughed. Draco held out his arms, but said, "How much did my wife pay you to say that?"

Maude laughed and said, "She told me if I brought the baby to you the next time it cried, and said that it wanted you, she would buy me a new bedroom suite for my room." The nanny laughed and handed the baby to Draco. She started to walk out of the room and she said, "Don't worry, she didn't wake her brother."

"Oh, bring him in, too," Hermione said.

She leaned over to her husband and her daughter and stroked her little baldhead. "She's so pretty, isn't she?" Draco asked.

"Bald and beautiful," Hermione said.

"Olivia was born with the hair gene, that's for sure," Draco smiled, "she didn't leave any for the rest of them."

The nanny walked back in and handed their son to Hermione. She stroked that baby's head, and said, "At least Ian got a little bit of hair, although it seems unfair that he got some and Emmy didn't get any."

"I hope and pray her hair doesn't come in red," Draco said.

"I have to concur, but don't ever tell anyone I said that," Hermione said. "The thing is, I thought since all the Weasleys had red hair, there was a good chance of Harry and Ginny's kids all having ginger hair, but only Al does. Lily and James both have dark hair. So maybe Ginny's ginger hair isn't a dominant trait."

"There's always hair dye," Draco laughed.

"You should know," she said back, jokingly.

"I don't colour my hair, Granger!" He looked at his 4-week-old daughter and said, "Your mummy is mean. You should find that out now." He leaned over to his son and said, "It's a harsh world son."

Hermione said, "Don't talk bad about me to my children."

"These ones are going to like me better than they like you. You have Olivia, so I get these ones," Draco said.

"Fine," Hermione said. She pushed Ian into his daddy's arms, so that Draco was holding them both and she said, "I need to take a bath, anyway. We have a big day ahead of us."

Draco rocked his children in his arms. He couldn't believe how happy he was. He felt different this time around. It wasn't that he loved these children more than he loved Olivia. It was just that he felt more at peace, happier. The circumstances of Olivia's birth, with her being early and so tiny, and Hermione being so ill, made it so he couldn't relax and enjoy it that time. They didn't even get to bring her home from Hospital until she was over a month old, and here these two little ones had been with them since the minute they were born.

Twins. He still couldn't believe they had twins. While identical twins ran in Ginny's family, their children, being male and female, where fraternal twins, and was more a result of their conception, than anything else. Artificial insemination resulted in higher likelihood of multiple births.

They found a surrogate easily enough. Draco always said if you pay someone enough money, you could get someone to do anything. She got pregnant the first time, as well. She had an extremely easy pregnancy, and an easy birth. Neither Draco nor Hermione wanted to be in the delivery room. The first time they saw their children was when the medi-witches brought them to the nursery, and put one in each parent's arms.

Draco was overjoyed! He didn't know why he didn't agree to do this years ago! He was a fool back then, but no longer. Hermione legally had to adopt the children, and though Draco was the birthfather, so did he. Ginny and the surrogate formally had to renounce their claims to them. All the legal work aside, the baby's were theirs, and they were beautiful.

Olivia hadn't even seen them yet. She wanted to come home, but she was in the middle of NEWTS and graduations. She was head girl this year, to James' head boy, so she was a frantic mess. She also graduated as top in her class. Draco was so proud of her. He regretted that Hermione never had a seventh year at Hogwarts. She would have been head girl. She would have been top in their class.

They named the babies Emmeline Grace and Ian Michael. Those were names they had considered when they were pregnant all those years ago with Livy. They were beautiful children. Everyone thought so. They named Ron godfather for both babies, since both Blaise and Harry were Olivia's godfathers. Ginny was already Olivia's godmother, so they names Ron's wife Lavender as godmother for them both. Their christening took place two weeks after they were born. They didn't cry at all. In fact, they were such good babies, that they rarely cried. Emmy cried a bit more than Ian did. Draco thought that was her right as a girl.

Before he knew they were having twins, he secretly wanted another girl. Everyone assumed he wanted a boy, and Hermione really wanted a boy, but he wanted another girl. The way Olivia had him wrapped around her finger from day one just melted his heart, and he knew he wanted that again, but now that he also had a son, he couldn't be more proud.

He took both babies and headed toward the bathroom. Hermione kept the door opened a crack, so he pushed the door in with his foot. She was relaxing in the tub. Draco said, "Hermione, they are both asleep. I'm going to take them back to bed." She didn't respond. He looked down at her closely. Her eyes were closed. Bless her heart; she was asleep in the tub. He expelled a small laugh and walked to the nursery, to put the babies back in their cribs.

**In the ****Bath****: ****  
**  
Hermione started the bath, and kept the door open a crack. She undressed and looked in the mirror. "Not bad, old girl," she said to herself. She wasn't the young beauty she used to be, but she didn't think she looked that bad, and she knew the two new little ones would keep her young. Once the tub was filled, she sat in the water and tried to relax. She could hear Draco talking and cooing to the babies in the other room.

Hermione thanked her lucky stars for the birth of her twins. She loved them immediately. She secretly worried that she might not feel the bond, the attachment, the immediate love and pull she felt the first time she held Olivia in her arms, but she was wrong. She did. The thing was, Olivia was almost their ages now before Hermione held her the first time. She felt cheated. She wished she could have held Olivia at a few minutes old, as she did Emmy and Ian.

She was glad Draco let her name them. It was silly, but she wanted all her children to have names that started with vowels. She had no reason for it, it didn't make sense, and she wouldn't admit it to a soul, but that's what she wanted, and she got her wish.

They were traveling to Hogwarts this morning for graduation, and then this afternoon, they were having a big graduation party at the house for James and Olivia. She was so proud of them both. Both of them head students, both of them at the top of their class, with Olivia number one and James number two. Olivia was sad that she hadn't yet seen the babies, but there was time. Olivia planned to spend the whole summer at home, and told her parents that she was going to spend every free minute with the babies. Hermione was sure the first time one of them spit up on her, or had a dirty nappy, she would change her mind.

James and she were taking a gap year before University. They wanted to travel all around Europe and North America. Then next summer, they wanted to wed and then go off to college together. They had their young lives so perfectly planned, something Hermione envied. She couldn't plan her life when she was their age. The only thing she could count on back then was turmoil. She didn't get to graduate. She didn't get to go to University. Well, she went for a while, and then her dad got sick and died, so she went home to help her mum. Then, when she went back, her mum got sick and died. Hermione didn't ever want her children to miss out on anything the way she did.

She just had her yearly scan and blood work. Still cancer free, knock on wood. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving those little babies, but even more than that, she couldn't leave Olivia. She knew that even though she was grown now, she needed her mother more than those little babies did.

After washing her hair and body, she added more hot water and leaned back. She would close her eyes, just for a second. That wouldn't hurt anything. She was so tired, after all.

**Draco in the Nursery: **

Draco put each baby in its crib. It would be time for their feeding soon. He would come back and help the nanny. He wanted to go wake up Hermione first. Make sure she didn't drown. He stroked the head of his son, and then walked over to his daughter and did likewise. He was the luckiest man on earth.

He walked back to his room. He walked over to the desk, to pick up his morning paper, which the elves must have just brought up. He would read it, as customary, while Hermione finished 'bathing/sleeping'. He picked it up and saw a parchment in Hermione's handwriting underneath. He was curious, so he picked it up. It was address to Olivia. Draco was still curious, and Hermione was asleep, so who would know if he read it? No one would know. He couldn't change who he was. He was still a person who would invade someone's privacy, and not apologize about it. It was just who he was.

The letter read:

* * *

_Dearest __Olivia__,___

_Dreams will come and follow you in your sleep, as your mind wanders to your ancestors and the lives they gave and the sweat they bled. I can see the reason for it now, meadows filled with bones and ruins; how bravely they fought, knowing they would not get any older. You see, the past keeps calling, Olivia, but sometimes we just refuse to listen. We are waiting passively for what your future holds._

_Freedom is waiting for you, and your dreams, unlike my own, aren't buried deep in the earth. There's no pleasure in reliving the past, only pain. It's in your rebirth that you will find your future. Ignorant men take babies to the rivers to wash them of their sins, but they don't seem to realize that only men have sins. As we live our lives, and end it buried in the ground, hold firm to the belief that in your life, true salvation was found._

_Someday you will be a bride, and stand with your groom at the altar. Your father and I will give you away, and I will cry, but not because of what I am losing, but because of what you are gaining. Your new bright tomorrow awaits you, Olivia dear. Be sure to grasp it by the hand, and greet it warmly._

_Don't face the lies that are handed you. Let faith and love bring you to your tomorrow. Dance in the dark, meet all hardships head on, and don't believe the lies people try to feed you. You know what's right and what's wrong. You are a special person, and you will do great things. I promise you that._

_No one will ever know how much I love you. Remember that always. Keep that thought locked deep in your heart, and someday, when I'm gone, bring it out and remember it. _

_I'm so proud of you, You are the best thing I have ever done, and my brightest accomplishment, and I am proud to be forever known as your mother._

_Love, Olivia's Mother_

_

* * *

_

Draco folded the letter, and sat down on the bed and started to cry, and he didn't even know why.

Hermione woke to the sound of her someone weeping, and she was completely certain it wasn't one of the babies. She stood up suddenly and grabbed a towel. Something had to be terribly wrong, because it was Draco who was crying.

**Hermione and Draco talk about the Future: **

Hermione came in the bedroom with just a towel around her body. Draco sat on the side of the bed, head hanging low, hands clasped, crying. Not loud sobs, just weeping. Hermione was confused. She walked up to him and he suddenly grasped her around the waist, held her tight, and continued to cry. She stroked his head and said, "Is it the babies?" She felt afraid.

He shook his head no.

"Olivia?" she asked.

He nodded. 'Oh my, God,' Hermione thought. Something bad happened to their daughter, and he didn't know how to tell her. She pulled away from his arms and kneeled before him. She took both hands and said, "Whatever it is, just tell me!"

"Our daughter is growing up!" he said.

Hermione stood up suddenly and slapped Draco across the face. He looked at her shocked. Then she pulled him aback into her arms. He rested his head on her stomach. "Goodness, Malfoy, I thought she had an accident or something, I didn't know you were becoming unglued because you just realized that she was growing up."

"I read your letter to her and it was so sad, poignant, and beautiful. It made me realize she was leaving. It also made me so sad for you, for the fact that you didn't get to graduate, and that you lost your parents too young," he said, no longer crying. He continued to hold her tight. She kissed the top of his head. She pulled away once more and sat beside him.

"Oh, Draco, you silly man. I love you so much." She didn't know what else to say. She put her arms around him again. He held her tight.

"At least we still have the babies," he said.

"Yes, and we have so much more than that," she said.

"That's true. I still have my looks and a full head of hair," he laughed.

"And your humility, don't forget that," she said.

"And a lovely wife that loves me just the way I am," he said.

"Amend that statement to 'a lovely wife that loves you despite all your flaws'," she said.

"Ha, you think you're so funny. I only wish you had a better sense of humour. If anything, that is my biggest regret," he said. She pinched his arm. He knocked her shoulder with his, and asked, "are you naked under that towel?'

"No, why?" she asked.

He gave her a funny look. She said, "Well, that was a stupid question, of course I'm naked under here, but I'm not in the mood for sex."

"But we have such a big day ahead of us, and you'll be too tired later on," he complained.

"I'll tell you what, you can proceed with sex tonight whether I am tired or not," she said. "I can sleep through it, I have before." She laughed. She always thought she was funny, even if he didn't.

He moved her wet hair away from her shoulder and kissed her shoulder, and then her neck. "Please, have sex with me. I won't ask for anything else the rest of the day."

"The rest of the week," she said.

"The next three days," he said.

"The next month," she said.

"You're working backwards!" he said.

"You're a terrible negotiator, what can I say? Now, we can have sex today, right now, and you won't ask for another thing, oh, say, for the next two weeks, or we can never have sex again. Your choice."

"That's a load of shite!" he said. He pushed her over and climbed on top of her, straddling her body. He said, "Let's look at the terms of this agreement more closely. First, are you sure you're already naked under there, because I don't want to waste any time."

"I'm naked, stupid," she said.

"Okay, here are my terms. Sex now, sex later, and sex whenever I want," he said. He leaned down and kissed the space above the towel. His hand went to the knot of the towel, and his finger went smoothly under the knot, to release it at a moment's notice.

"Those terms are bogus. Here are my terms," she said, as she took both his wrists in her hands. "Sex now, maybe later, maybe whenever you want, but if I say no, it means no. Understand?"

"Of course, that sounds reasonable," he said. He wrenched his wrists from her hands and put both her hands above her head.

Draco kissed Hermione long and passionately. His tongue danced wildly with hers. He let go of her hands and she put them instinctively around his body. He moved his body slightly to remove the towel from between their bodies. Everyplace he touched still sent tingles to her toes. She pushed him to his back and slipped his t-shirt over his head. She gave him a quick kiss in the center of his chest, before moving her mouth down his stomach. She reached for the waistband of his jeans and undid the button and the zip. Draco pulled her face up to his and said, "You are now, and will forever be, the only woman I will ever love."

She smiled sweetly and kissed his mouth as her response. They kissed with a blind, raging hunger, whose passion had not extinguished, but grown brighter, throughout the years. Her body was still awe inspiring, at least in his opinion. He moved so he was back on top. He slipped his jeans and boxers off his body.

His tongue traced her upper lip, the little bow of the top lip, the corners, and the plumpness of the bottom lip. Using every ounce of self-control he possessed, he continued to hover above her lips, without kissing her again. Finally, he opened her mouth under his, and it was sweet, so sweet, so warm, and so wet. It was indescribable. His hand went to one breast, and the blood in his veins began to boil.

His hands went up to her hair, and forced her face to his. He looked down at her and said, "Do you still love me?" She smiled. He had his answer. His hand moved down and across both breasts, to the small swell of her stomach, to the delightful area between her thighs. He bent his head to kiss one breast, lavishing kisses and small nips along its outer rim, and finally its center. She kissed the top of his head and his other hand. She held his hand and sucked on his finger as his fingers from his other hand plunged in her depths.

Her fingers folded themselves along his rigid erection, stroking him, caressing him, up and down. He threw his head back, and then let it drop down, to her neck, where he bit her hard.

Kissing for what felt like an eternity, and touching, exploring, and trailing fingers and hands over each other, they both began to moan. He ached for her he was so ready. She was so soft, so willing, so female, and all his. He captured her mouth one last time and their bodies melded into one: one body, legs and arms entwined, their flesh burned with desire for the other.

He continued to drive deep inside her, until her moans mixed with his own, to form a heavenly choir of mixed melodies and harmonies. His heart filled with rapture. He brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her intently until her climax started. He rolled over quickly, so that when she came, she had to arch her back and he looked at her quickly, her nipples and breasts swollen and red. She threw her head back farther and yelled out something incoherent. His hands came around and grasped her hips and buttocks and soon he bucked up against her and came as well.

She fell on top of him, sweat mingled with the wetness of her previous bath. Her hair still wet, he began to stroke it, as he moved her so she was beside him. The love he felt for this woman was a whispered secret stamped in his heart, never to be truly revealed, for fear that it might go away, or be stolen in the dead of night. Sometimes, after they parted, after the made love, his heart would fill with regret. A painful pang of sorrow would replace the ecstasy that he had just felt, but not this time. He felt truly content. He felt his life was complete.

He kissed her forehead. Hermione looked over at him and kissed his chest. "I love you, too," she responded to his quiet words, which she still heard, if only in her heart.

**Getting ready for Hogwarts: ****  
**  
Harry paced back and forth downstairs. "Hurry up, people!" he yelled. He hated being late. Not that they were going to be late. They still had plenty of time, but he didn't want to risk being late. They were supposed to leave at 10:00 am. The graduation service was at 11:00. It was hard enough to get Ginny out of the house on time, but now, waiting for Draco and Hermione was more than he could bear. He sat on the couch, only to stand right back up and start toward the stairs.

Blaise, who was holding Ian, said, "For fucks sakes, Potter, sit down."

Harry turned and said, "Don't curse in front of the baby."

"Why not, he can't understand me, if he could, he would already hate you, because I tell him what a wanker you are every chance I get," Blaise said.

Harry walked over and took Ian from him. "Go upstairs and tell them to hurry!" Harry said.

"Listen, Potter, you might be the King of the world, but you don't rule me," he said.

Hermione was walking through the living room and she said, "Calm down, Harry, Draco's coming. Emmy spit up and we had to change her again, that's all. Maybe we should leave the babies here, with their nanny."

"No, James and Olivia haven't seen them yet," Ginny said. "Anyway, we'll all help with them. It took you all morning to pack for them, so let's take them."

Draco came walking down the stairs with Emmy and he said, "Does she look okay. She absolutely ruined the little dress I bought her for Olivia's graduation, so I had to put this old thing on her."

"She has hundreds of dresses she'll never wear," Hermione said to Harry. He smiled. He handed Ian to her and picked up the bag with the babies' belongings.

"Can we leave now?" he asked.

They all went to the floo, and headed toward Hogwarts.

**At Hogwarts: **

The graduation ceremony was to be held outside. It was such a beautiful day. It was as if someone looked up the day on a menu, picked: 'a perfect day for a graduation', ordered it promptly, and God obliged. Olivia came running toward her parents as she saw them enter the grounds. She had been waiting for them. James had convinced her not to practice her speech any longer, because after all, she started working on it four months ago, and she already had it memorized. Therefore, they were outside waiting for their parents. Well, really, Olivia was waiting for the babies.

"MUM! DAD!" Olivia yelled. She ran toward them, her long, dark, curly hair blowing behind her, her black graduation gown already on, but opened, so it fanned out like a cape.

She kissed her mother's cheek, then her fathers, and then she took the baby that Draco had in his arms and held it tight. She kissed it and said, "Which one is this?"

"Ian," Hermione answered.

"Oh, he looks like he's going to be a blond. I always wanted blond hair when I was young," she said.

"You did?" Hermione asked, a bit confused.

"No, not really, it just seemed the thing to say," she laughed. James took the other baby from his dad.

"So, this is Emmeline?" he asked.

"Emmy, for short, like Livy, for short," Draco answered. Olivia smiled.

She looked at James holding Emmy, he pressed his lips to her forehead, and everyone smiled. "She's so pretty and tiny," he said. "She's bald as a doorknob," he added.

"She'll get hair," Draco said, "and we're praying for blonde or brunette."

"Hey!" Ginny and Ron said at the exact same time. James had to laugh. He gave Draco a 'knowing' look and smiled.

Hermione put her arm around Olivia and asked, "Are you ready to graduate?"

"I think so, my speech is ready," she said.

"It's disgustingly ready," James replied. He passed the baby back to his own mother. Olivia kept a tight hold of the one in her arms. They walked toward the courtyard, which was set up for graduation. Many early arrivers were already filling up the seats.

Blaise said, "I'm going to save us the first row. So if you need me, that's where I'll be."

"How will you save the whole row?" Ginny asked.

Blaise just rolled his eyes. He walked away and said, "Seriously."

Olivia handed the baby back to her dad and she said, "Mum, can I talk to you for a moment, alone?"

"Sure," she said. She took her daughter's hand. They walked over to a secluded bench, by the castle's walls, and Hermione said, "What's on your mind?"

"James and I had sex last night," she blurted out.

Hermione was speechless. She thought her daughter was going to talk about her fear of graduating, or her apprehension about the future. Not this. Oh, lord, not this.

"Um, well, I wish you had waited until you were married," Hermione said. She couldn't help it, that was her wish.

"I know, I kind of do, too," she said. Hermione frowned and Olivia said, "No, it's not like it was awful, and it was my idea, not James', so don't blame him or anything. It was good and all, but I told him that I don't know if we should do it again."

Hermione couldn't help herself, she laughed. "I bet that went over big."

"I don't mean that we should never do it again, I just meant until we are both more ready. I don't know, I just didn't think it was going to be like that, and I was so nervous, and so was he, and it was sweet and all, but now I feel guilty or something," Olivia tried to articulate her thoughts, but was doing a poor show of it.

Hermione said, "Don't feel guilty. You love him, and you have for a long time. If you want to wait to do it again, then wait. I don't know what else to say. I hope you were responsible."

Olivia grinned and said, "I hardly want to make you a grandmother when you just became a mother again. We were. Mum, tell me about your and daddy's first time."

So Hermione told her daughter about her and Draco, and the first time they made love.

* * *

_They arrived at his flat and walked hand in hand into his bedroom. He was so nervous, he felt like this was his first time. She was so nervous that she honestly felt like crying. Her throat felt tight and her heart was pounding out of her chest. He pulled her close and kissed her on her mouth, and she thought she was melting. Something, which resembled need, filled them both, as the urge to captivate her overwhelmed him. She touched his chest, and the heat from her hand scorched his skin, while they sent chills down her spine. He held her close and could feel her taut nipples through her clothing. She could feel his hard need through his. Soon she softly caressed him with her delicate hands, which burnt every part of him, especially the part that was hard for her.___

_He kissed her as if his life depended on it. He could smell her sweet scent, and it intoxicated him. He needed completely to drink her in until he was utterly sated. _

_He dropped his head and captured her lips. No one would ever taste like her. She tasted like perfection. She tasted like home. She was fragile, that much he knew, and as they stood there, he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her so her feet were inches from the floor, and he knew that for this moment, and for perhaps each moment after this, she was completely his._

_The feel of his hot breath on her cool skin set on her fire. Only Draco could fill the emptiness that was inside her body and soul. She leaned her head to the right and his raw scent invaded her senses. She felt his searching lips brush against her bare neck, and she groaned. His voice was deep and full of desire, as he returned her groan and then he pulled away from her luscious lips and asked, "Do you want me to stop?"_

_"No," she said with a slight tremor in her voice. His hard arms continued to envelope her and their tongues danced with wild desire. She craved to have his hard muscles pressed against her. She felt as if that was all she ever wanted. Her hands started to explore his chest, his back, his face. He put her feet back on the floor and as he pushed away from her, he threw off his jacket. He was overwhelmed with hunger for her. She massaged him through his trousers, and he was rock hard under her hand. He began to shake with desire._

_Needing to touch her, and taste her, he reached around and unzipped her dress. It fell off her shoulders as if inviting him to continue. He felt desperate for her. He kissed his way down her jaw and neck, and the sensation sent shockwaves down her entire body. He jerked off his shirt, and unzipped his pants. He wanted to feel skin on skin. Each nerve ending in his body was throbbing for her touch._

_He backed her knees to the side of his bed, and she collapsed on top of it. He slid her up toward the headboard and fell next to her. He started to explore her body. He could not believe how soft she was. He was fascinated with every part of her. He hesitated before he touched her breasts. She still had on her bra and panties and he was cautious to remove those last barriers. He would wait for her to remove them._

_He touched the swell of one breast with one hand, his thumb touching the nipple through the silk. She wiggled under his touch, and that was his undoing. He could not wait for her, so he reached around and undid the clasp of her bra. He bent his head down to kiss the valley between her breasts, and then he kissed the nipple of one breast, while cupping the other one in his hand._

_Draco could not wait to see her completely naked. All she had left was her black panties. He didn't know if he had enough resolve to let her remove them, or if he would let his primeval urges overtake him and rip them off her himself. He gently reached down to brush his fingers between her legs, and she felt she could no longer think straight. He massaged her with his thumb through that last barrier, until she was completely drenched with desire._

_He moved to lay on top of her, separating her legs with his knee. He moved his lips once more to each swollen breast, which ached to be kissed. He flicked his tongue back and forth over each mound, his breath and tongue burning her flesh._

_She moaned again and said his name. He placed his hand between them again to ease the ache that she felt from wanting him inside her. He continued to stroke her until she was on the verge of orgasm. Thrusting her hips to him, she realized that his hand was bringing her more pleasure than she had ever felt in her life. Wouldn't having him inside her bring her even more pleasure? She reached down and kicked off her panties._

_He continued to kiss and lick her naked body. He took off the remainder of his clothing and they continued to make love. Feeling the warm sensations that his body was bringing to her, she again cried out his name. Needing to envelope her fully, his hand went again to the junction between her thighs and he sank his fingers into her. She was so wet and ready. He played with her like this for a while, watching the pleasure he was giving her with each new expression on her face. He continued to stroke her, and when he saw she was beginning her orgasm, he slid himself into her._

_This one single act pierced her very soul. She held his hips, urging him to go faster. She rocked her hips under him and begged to seek the peace that his closeness offered. He quickened his strokes until that final moment of pleasure blinded them both in utter ecstasy. Lifting his hips one last time, he buried himself for the final moment, and then collapsed on top of her._

_After a moment, he pulled out of her and settled next to her on the bed. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She shivered beside him as she came down from her high. Afraid of ever letting her go, he held on to her tight. They soon fell asleep in each other's arms._

* * *

Olivia asked, "You were a virgin?"

"Yes, I was," she answered.

"But you weren't married yet," Olivia pointed out.

"Makes me a bit of a hypocrite, doesn't it? Telling you that you should have waited, when I didn't. I was older than you were though, not much, you're nineteen, and I was twenty-three, but still, I was older. I don't know what to say to you, sweetheart. I hope your first time was something you'll look back on fondly, the way I look back on my first time."

"I think I will," she said. "I just needed to tell someone, so thanks for listening. James is my best friend, so usually I would have told him, but he kind of already knew about this." Both women laughed.

"I have a letter for you," Hermione said. She opened her purse and handed it to her. Olivia started to open it and Hermione said, "Maybe you should wait to read it. Your dad read it and he cried."

"He did?" she asked.

"Yes, and if you want to see him cry again, tell him about you and James," Hermione joked.

"I don't think so. James did say he was going to talk to his dad about it. I don't know why," Olivia said.

"Maybe he just needs to tell someone too, just like you. Maybe he needs reassurance that everything's okay, and it'll continue to be okay, in fact, it'll get better, I promise you that." Hermione kissed her daughter's forehead and touched her face lightly. "I love you so much, Olivia."

"I love you, Mummy."

"Does anyone love me?" Draco asked, as he approached the pair.

"That goes without saying!" Hermione said, and she jumped off the bench and hugged him tight. "I'm going to go help Blaise save all those seats. See you both later." She thought Draco might want some alone time with Olivia.

Draco saw the letter Hermione had written to Olivia in her hands. He said, "I read that. It's the most touching thing I've ever read, and as you read it, please remember, that although I didn't write it, my sentiments are exactly the same as your mother's."

"I know, Dad," she said. She stood up and put her arms around his waist. "I love you, Dad. You've been a wonderful father. I know sometimes you doubt that, and I know I haven't always appreciated you, or made things easy for you, but seriously, I couldn't ask for a better father." He put his right hand in her dark hair, and stroked it gently.

He pulled something out of his pocket. "I wanted to give you this graduation present before your party. I want you to wear it today. It was my mother's." She opened the box to reveal a pretty sapphire and diamond necklace. It was very ornate, and was worth a fortune. He said, "When you're standing up at the podium, I want the sunshine to bounce of the jewels, and I want everyone to be envious of you."

Olivia had to laugh. Of course, that's what he wanted. He was Draco Malfoy, after all, and she was Draco Malfoy's daughter, so she would gladly oblige. She put it on, and then zipped up her graduation robe. The necklace was on the outside of the robe. She put her fingertips up to the jewels and said, "Does it look pretty? Is the sunshine bouncing off the jewels?"

"Make fun if you will, Olivia, but that damn necklace is worth over a 200,000 galleons," he said.

"WOW!" she exclaimed.

James walked up to them and covered his eyes, with mocked blindness. "Put that thing away, Livy, you're blinding me," he joked. He shook Draco's hand.

"I have something for you, too, James," Draco said. James was taken aback. Draco put his hand in another pocket, and pulled out a platinum and diamond wristwatch. "It was my father's," Draco explained.

"Draco, maybe you should wait and give that to your own son, someday," James said, his hands held up in front of him.

"But I'm giving it to one of my sons," Draco said proudly. "I love you like a son. Your father's a prat, you mother is a pistol, but you, James, are a wonderful human being. I like to think the fact that you were raised with me in your life has something to do with that."

James tried not to laugh, but Olivia laughed aloud. She said, "James, I'm not that proud and boastful, am I?"

"You are pretty vain sometimes," he said, as he took the watch from Draco. He shook Draco's hand, but Draco pulled his hand, and pulled the younger man toward him and hugged him.

"Take care of my daughter, for she's precious, you know," he said.

"I know, and I always will," he said. He looked at the watch. He said, "Maybe I will walk up to get my diploma with my arm up in the air, and my sleeve rolled up, so everyone will see my present, too."

He was joking, but Draco said, "That sounds like a wonderful plan." Draco laughed and said, "Oh hell, everyone will just think your dad gave it to you, and I don't want him to steal my thunder, so just keep your sleeve down." He walked away and left Olivia and James alone.

Olivia sat on the bench and James sat beside her. "You told your mum, didn't you?"

"Yes. Did you tell your dad?" she asked.

"Yes," he admitted.

"What did he say?"

"Probably the same as your mum, that we should have waited, and he asked if we used protection, and then he gave me some pointers on how to make it better next time," James said. His face turned bright red.

Olivia smiled widely and hit James on the shoulder. "You're lying! He did not!"

"Yes, he did," James said. He couldn't look her in the face.

"Well, I don't know if I can ever look at your dad again," Olivia said, cracking up. She continued to laugh, James turned to look at her, and he laughed as well. She laughed so hard she fell off the bench. He bent down, grabbed both her hands, and pulled her up.

"I love you, Olivia," he said. He kissed her lips, as he held both her hands.

"I love you, too."

**Graduation, the Ceremony: **

"…and so, as we wait in line, to take our turn, we have to remember to listen to our hearts, for they won't lead us astray. The road is long, and winding, and as we meet many people along the way, friends and foes, let us continues to anticipate our lives, which are mapped out before us. We can stray or stay the course, the important thing is to remember that we're all adults now, and it is finally our choice to make. Let's make the right choice." Olivia finished her speech and looked out at all the proud faces of her loved ones in the crowd. She walked back over to her chair, and James reached for her hand.

Her life was mapped out for her, her future was sitting right beside her, and she knew it was right. She just knew it.

**After the Graduation, at home, the Party: ****  
**  
"Thank you, Uncle Blaise!" Olivia screamed. She ran from her chair, and threw her arms around Blaise. He had bought her a new car for graduation. He didn't want Harry Potter out doing him this time, as he did at her christening, when he bought her a pony, only to be outdone by Harry, who bought her an actual house!

"Where is it?" she asked, as she held up the keys.

"Come on, I'll show you, it's parked back by the garage. I didn't want you to see it," he said. He took her hand and then reached in his pocket and threw a set of keys at a surprised James.

"I got her a red one, and you a black one," he said. James eyes became wide as saucers.

"Really?" James asked. He looked at his parents, to make sure it was okay to take such an expensive present. Harry and Ginny had decided to pay for kid's trip next year, as their present, so Harry didn't mind James having a car. He minded a little that it came from Blaise, whom he would never like. Harry nodded, so James, Olivia, and Blaise all went outside to see the new cars.

Draco walked over to Hermione, who was feeding Ian. He sat on the arm of her chair and said, "I gave them their presents before graduation."

"I know, Olivia's blinded me during her speech," Hermione laughed.

Draco stroked the baby's head and said, "That was my intent."

Hermione yawned. It had been a long day. "Maude!" Draco called out. "Come and finish feeding Ian, won't you?" Maude took the baby from Hermione.

"I just put Emmeline down," Maude answered. She walked out of the room with Ian.

Draco moved down to the seat of the chair, positioning Hermione on his lap. "Are you tired?"

"Yes," she said. She put her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "It's been a long day."

"It's been a long year," Draco laughed.

"It's been a long life," Hermione said back.

Hermione placed her head on Draco's shoulder and closed her eyes. The sounds of the partygoers no longer disturbed her, and she shut her eyes and went to sleep. Draco rocked her back and forth, every once in a while, touching her face, or kissing her head.

Harry Potter stood by the living room door, which led to the entryway, and looked at his best friend and her husband. He was so happy they had found each other. They deserved happiness, and they deserved to be together. He wanted a happy life for them, and although sometimes it was fraught will pain and misery, for the most part, they had been happy.

* * *

_ (One chapter left, which will be the wedding of James and Olivia, and you are all invited to attend. I hope the ending of this chapter didn't seem rushed, but I wanted to end it in a good mood, with a happy ending. Next chapter will come next week, and then this story is over forever.)_


	8. A Wedding Invitation

**_Draco and Hermione Malfoy_**

**_And_**

**_Harry and Ginny Potter_**

**_Would like to request the honour_**

**_Of your presence_**

**_At the Wedding of their children_**

**_Olivia Alexis Malfoy_**

**_And_**

**_James Patrick Potter_**

**_On the 2nd of July_**

_**At ****1:00 pm**_

**_At Edgewood Manor_**

**_RSVP_**


	9. Day Eight, Year Eight, Part I

**all characters belong to JKR**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8, Part I, Day eight, July 2, Saturday, The Wedding, Year eight**

**

* * *

**

**Somewhere Over the Rainbow:**

"I don't know if I can do this," Olivia said to her mother.

"Just take a deep breath, and it'll be fine," Hermione said, as she buttoned up her daughter's dress.

"Mum, were you this nervous at your wedding?" she asked.

"Oh, Olivia, you've heard the awful stories about my wedding. Yes, I was nervous, yes, I had doubts, yes, your father was pissed out of his mind, he slept with another woman the night before we wed, and he tricked me, more or less, into marrying him. You have heard all of this. How do you think I felt the day of my wedding?" Hermione asked, more than a bit irked at her daughter.

* * *

_(Flashback from "Another Week in the Life")_

_As Hermione walked out of the guest bedroom and approached her two friends, who were standing at the top of the stairs, Draco suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Hermione's hand and said, "Let's get this bloody wedding over."_

_He was practically dragging her down the stairs, with Harry and Ron in tow. As if he just remembered that her friends were supposed to walk her down the stairs, he turned to them and said, "We won't need your services today, Pothead and Weasel boy. We can make it down the steps ourselves." Harry glared at Malfoy and Ron looked like he was about to hit him. However, Hermione looked at her two best friends and just nodded at them to go on downstairs._

_She looked at Malfoy, who had at least managed to put his dress robes on, and asked, "Where have you been?" in hushed tones._

_"Don't have time to make chit-chat, Granger, we have people waiting. We're getting married, you know?" He then started back down the steps holding on to her hand. One of the house elves magically started music and Draco yelled out, "Stop that damn racket this instant. I have a hell of a hangover and that music is giving me a headache!"_

_He walked to the bottom of the stairs, still pulling Hermione along, when she came to a complete stop. "Let me go," she said pleading._

_"No, it's our wedding day and if I want to hold your bloody, fucking, hand, I will, so stop whining and get your arse down here," he said. He yanked her hand to make her take the last two steps of the stairs and she almost stumbled._

_Harry walked up to them and said, "Let her go, you git."_

_"Go to hell, Potter, just once and for all, go to fucking hell," Draco said while running his free hand through his hair._

_The Officiate did not know whether to start the ceremony or not. Finally, Hermione spoke. "Go home everyone; there will be no wedding today."_

_"Who the hell are you, Granger, to decide whether or not there'll be a wedding?" Draco yelled at her._

_Blaise walked up to his friend and tried to pull his hand from Hermione's, for which he still had a death grip, but Draco gave him such a glare that Blaise thought better and took two steps back._

_"Start the fucking ceremony," Draco told the Officiate._

_The little old wizard looked at Draco, and then to Hermione, and said, "I don't think so."_

_Draco drew his wand at the little man, and said, "I SAID START THE CEREMONY!"_

_Before Draco knew what was happening, about twenty people drew their wands, and they were all pointed directly at him. Soon everyone was yelling at him and his friends drew their wands and started yelling at Hermione's friends. Hermione merely stood there in silence. The whole display was surreal. It was as if she was watching the whole scene from the sidelines, instead of being a participant._

_Finally, she yelled, "STOP IT! EVERYONE, STOP IT!" That did indeed stop all the yelling and name calling, but not one person put their wand away, including Malfoy. "Let go of my hand, Draco. I'll marry you, but stop being a prat," she said it so calmly, as if she was asking him how he would like his tea. Malfoy let go of her hand and put his wand away. Soon all the other guests put their wands away as well._

_Harry stepped up to Hermione and said, "You can't marry him, Hermione."_

_"I promised him, Harry," she offered. She turned back toward the Officiate, not once making eye contact with Draco, and told the old wizard to start the ceremony. He started the ceremony, but Hermione did not hear one word he said. She was having an outer body experience. Inside she was crying, and screaming, and begging Draco to tell her what was happening. Outside, she stood there pliant, although it was all subterfuge._

_The Officiate rushed through the ceremony and when he got to the part where he told the bride and groom to kiss, Hermione turned toward Draco and said, "Don't you dare kiss me."_

_"We'll do this right, Granger," he seethed, as he took her command as a challenge. He grabbed both her upper arms and pulled her toward his body._

_"I mean it, Malfoy, I'm not kissing you," she declared._

_"That doesn't mean I'm not kissing you," he spat. Therefore, he kissed her. He assaulted her lips with a fury and a hunger that in no way held passion, only brute force. He kissed her roughly and she struggled under his assault. Soon most of the wedding guests were once again shouting. Mostly, they were yelling at Draco to let go of Hermione._

_He released his fingers from her upper arms, leaving behind the start of bruises, and put one hand in her hair and one hand around her waist. He tried to deepen the kiss, but she resisted. She kept her mouth shut tight, so in anger he bit her bottom lip hard, and when she went to cry out in pain, he forced his tongue in her mouth. She fought him and began to whimper in pain and humiliation. He was still assaulting her lips with as much abuse as he could, that finally Harry said, "Let her go or die, Malfoy."_

_He continued his kiss, for that is what it was, it was his kiss, not theirs. She took no ownership in the exploit. Finally, to save his friend's life, since Potter was about to kill Draco, Blaise took hold of Malfoy's arm and pried it from her waist and said, "Stop it, Malfoy!"_

_He finally let her go and she stumbled back away from him with a look of fear, mingled with disgust. Her lips were red and swollen and there was blood at the corner of her mouth from where he bit her. Her arms already had bruises on them and her hair was falling all over the place._

_"Let's go have a toast to the happy couple!" Draco exclaimed, as he pushed past Hermione and headed toward the living room, where the reception was to take place._

_"Everyone go home. Leave now, please," Hermione said in a steady voice. Ron reiterated what she said to everyone and they all started leaving. Finally, only Harry, Ron and Blaise remained. Hermione ran up the stairs with Harry and Ron on her heels._

_

* * *

_

(Present Day)

"It's not the same situation at all," she continued. "You've know James since he was born, and you were six months old. You have grown up together. You told me you were going to marry him when you were five. He told his dad he was going to marry you at four. Never were two people more destine to marry, than you two."

"I know, I know," Olivia sighed. "I'm still nervous. Aren't I allowed to be nervous?"

"Yes, you can be nervous, but not afraid. You can be anxious, but not have doubts. You and James are going to be together for all time, and this is just the start of your life," Hermione said. She stood back and looked at her daughter. She wore the same dress Hermione wore to be married, which was Hermione's mother's gown. Hermione felt like crying. "You are so beautiful."

"Thanks, Mum," Olivia said. She looked at herself in the mirror. Hermione stood behind her. "I wish you had your mother with you the day you got married."

"I had Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry. Uncle Ron buttoned up all these buttons for me that day," Hermione said. She looked at her daughter's reflection again and said, "I am so proud of you."

Olivia turned back toward her mother and said, "And how are you? Are you up for this today?"

"I actually feel good today," Hermione said. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Olivia could only hope that would be true. Her mother's cancer had returned. She had just had another surgery. She was taking another round of Chemo. She had been sick for four months. Olivia wished she could tell her mother that was the reason she had doubts. That was why she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing. Her mother needed her right now. Her father needed her right now. Her little brother and sister needed her right now. What would Hermione have done these last few months if Olivia hadn't been home?

Did she have the right to get married, move away, start university, and just leave them all to fend for themselves? Hermione told Olivia she wouldn't hear of her putting her life on hold for her. Hermione did the same thing when her father was sick, and then again when her mother was sick. She was selfless, and she regretted it to this day. She wouldn't let her daughter have the same regret.

"Mummy, I love you so much. Don't leave me," Olivia said, holding on to her mother tightly and crying freely.

"Liv, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be fine. The doctors say I have a good chance of surviving this. I have to believe I do, as well," Hermione said.

"I can't live without you," Olivia said. Hermione put her hand up to her daughter's tear soaked cheek.

"You think that now, because I thought that when my mother died, but the truth is, we all carry on. We continue to live even when those around us die, but I'm not dying of cancer. I'm living with cancer. I will continue to live, maybe with cancer, maybe without," Hermione said.

"Mum, I promise you, if anything does happen to you, I will take care of the babies, like they were my own," Olivia said.

"I wouldn't make you promise that. I won't make you make me any promises, but the promise to be happy. I love you, Olivia. I want you to have the bright, happy life, which sometimes eluded me. That's the only promise you need to make me, is that you will live life to the fullest, and seek happiness whenever you can." Hermione turned and walked out of Olivia's bedroom, because frankly, she couldn't stand there one more minute, and watch her daughter cry. It hurt too much. This should be a happy day. Hermione wanted her always to remember her wedding day with fondness, and with happiness. Hermione never had that pleasure.

She didn't want Olivia ever to regret one thing about her life.

_

* * *

_

_(Flashback from "A Week in the Life")_

_Grey walls. Grey walls and grey floors. Were the floors even grey? Or were they merely a forgotten by-product of an infrequent cleaning? No matter. They might as well be grey. Her whole life felt grey._

_She sat at her desk in her little grey office in sub-level four of the Ministry of Magic. She didn't even have a title. She didn't even work in any specific department. What she did was research for any other department that was in need. The smartest witch of her age stuck in an office the size of a broom closet, with grey floors and walls, doing research for other employees in important departments, who actually had jobs that made difference. What joy._

_What led her to this place? It had been three years since the end of the war and five years since her graduation from Hogwarts. She graduated at the top of her class. During that time, a war was going on, but her and her friends tried their best to go on with normal lives. She went on to University. She intended to become a teacher. She had hoped she could teach at her old school. Well, fate had other plans. Her father died one year after graduation of a heart attack. He was only 45 years old. She had to leave school to be with her mother. Then, Harry needed her to help with his fight against Voldemort. Two years later, after the war, she finally felt like she could go back to school. Her friends got through the war mostly unharmed, and most of them alive. Her mother went back to her dental practice. Therefore, Hermione went back to University._

_Six months after she went back, she got a call from her mother. Her mum had pancreatic cancer. Hermione went home to take care of her mum. Two short months later, her mother was dead. Hermione never went back to school. So there she was, five years after graduation, four years after her father's death, and six months after her mother's death, without a formal education and in a dead-end boring job. No family, no boyfriend, no significant other. Her life was just so grey._

_She had no one, a boring job, and a life that just stayed still. There was a time, not so long ago, where she felt like her life had purpose; a meaning. Now she was just a visitor in her own life, just passing through. She was sure if she should ever feel happiness again, something cruel would come along and take it from her. Wake her up. Tell her she just was not worthy. Tell her she only deserved the grey life in front of her._

_So there she was on a Friday afternoon in her little broom cupboard/office, alphabetizing files and listening to all her co-workers talk about their exciting plans for the weekend. That was when Miss Hermione Jean Granger the Grey cracked! She literally and physically cracked. She started to cry and just could not stop. She cried all over the blasted files. She did not even get up to shut her door. She did not care anymore. At that moment, she felt the whole world was going to swallow her whole and she did not care, because she did not want to be grey anymore.  
_

_

* * *

_

(Present day)

Hermione sat in the window seat of her bedroom, and remembered what life was like before Draco, before Olivia, before it all. She scarcely recalled being that unhappy, yet at one time, she was. Now, she had a wonderful life, three wonderful children, and a husband she adored. If her life thought it was going to end after she had finally given up being grey, and had found her rainbow, well, her life was sorely mistaken.

Draco walked in the room. Hermione looked at him. He looked so handsome. She smiled and reached out her hand. He walked up and brought her hand to his mouth, and kissed it lightly.

_

* * *

_

_(Flashback from "A Week in the Life")_

_Just as Draco was rounding the corner on sub level four, he heard what sounded like a muted sob. Someone was definitely crying. Not loudly, no wails, just small, sad, and inconceivable sob. He looked for the source of this crying, even though he was already sure he knew the source. He stopped in front of a door that looked like an opening to a broom closet, except it must be an office because it had a desk and a chair. Grey walls, dirty grey floors, and definitely a desk and chair. Behind said desk was the source of the crying. With her head on her arms, and her arms on the top of her desk, was Hermione Granger. He knew it was she before he saw her. Now that he saw her, he thought his heart might break._

_"Granger?" he asked._

_No answer._

_"Granger!" he demanded again. She looked up at him. Oh no, she thought. This was not what she needed today of all days. Her life just kept getting greyer and greyer all the time. There was Draco Malfoy, standing in the doorway of her little office, in all his beautiful glory, and witnessing her emotional and mental breakdown. She put her head back down on her desk and continued to cry._

_"Granger? What the hell is going on here? Tell me why you're crying," Draco demanded again, as he kneeled down beside her desk._

_"Go away, Malfoy, please. Leave me alone. I just want to be left alone," she said between sobs._

_"No, Granger, I won't go away. Now for goodness sakes woman, tell me what happened."_

_"Really, Malfoy," Hermione answered, "Nothing's happened," she continued, while wiping her eyes on her sleeve._

_"Listen, I really do need to talk to your boss, but after I'm finished with him I'm coming back in here and you'll tell me what's wrong. We may not be the best of friends, Granger, but you really can talk to me, okay?" At this, Draco turned to leave Hermione's office, he took one more backwards glance at the pretty witch with the red eyes, and he wondered what in the world could have happened to make her so upset. She nodded 'okay' to his last statement, to signify acceptance to his offer. All the while thinking to her self, what a handsome and kind man he had become. He started back down the corridor and he heard her head hit the desk once again and she started to cry even more._

_He stormed back into her office, again kneeled down next to her desk, and took a hold of her two small hands in his large hands, and he said, "I know we haven't always been close. Hell, we're not even really friends, but we're not exactly mortal enemies anymore either. I would like to think that you could count on me if something is so wrong in your life that you can't even go one minute without crying. Tell me, Hermione; tell me right this instant, what in the blazes is wrong with you?"_

_She looked down at her hands in his and looked back up into his grey eyes. Grey. He had grey eyes. Once they were as cold and grey as her life presently was, but now they seemed warm and inviting. She wondered, could she really confide in this man? This man that was a first class, pureblood bully in school, and who became a Death Eater, and tried to kill their Headmaster. True, he had changed. Still, could she confide in him? Would he really want her to? She pondered these things, looked once more at their entwined hands, and in a very quiet voice, said one sentence, "My life is so grey, Malfoy."_

_

* * *

_

_(Present Day)_

**Nothing Compares to You:**

"What are you thinking about, Hermione?" Draco asked. He came and sat beside her, and pulled her into his arms.

"I was thinking about how grey my life was before I met you. You gave my life back to me, Draco, and sometimes, I feel like all I have given you in return is heartache and pain. You shouldn't have to go through this illness with me again. No one should," she said.

"Is this the 'pity' part of your tirade? Should I feel bad because you feel bad that I feel bad?" he asked.

She looked at him confused and said, "I don't even know what you just said."

He laughed and said, "Never mind, just keep one thing in mind; you are the one who gave me a life. I was nothing before I met you. You know that." He kissed her cheek.

"Are the babies ready?" Hermione asked.

"Maude had to change Ian, because he got chocolate on his little white suit," Draco laughed.

"Where did the baby get chocolate?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"Must have been from Harry," Draco lied. "They look so smart in their little outfits. I just can't believe how big they've gotten. They're sixteen months old. Can you believe that?" he asked.

"No, that is hard to believe," Hermione said. Her babies. Ian and Emmy. Two towheaded little blond babies, with more life and joy than should be allowed. They were her reason for fighting the good fight. They needed her. She sometimes thought that Olivia needed her more, but at least Olivia would remember her. If something happened to her now, those little babies wouldn't even remember her, or know how much she loved them, and might not even consider her their mother. If for no other reason, she couldn't die because they needed her.

She was quiet for so long that Draco asked, "What's really on your mind, besides your old, grey life?"

"I was thinking of the first time you kissed me," she lied. She wasn't thinking about that, but she was now.

"Oh, yes, good times," Draco said with a smile, "Good times indeed."

_

* * *

_

_(Flashback from "A Week in the Life")_

_He took his hands and put them on each sides of her face. He rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. He smiled so sweetly to her, and then he leaned his face into hers. She was so nervous she thought she might hyperventilate. 'He's going to kiss me', she thought._

_"Granger, I'm going to kiss you," he said, as if reading her mind. He turned his head slightly, and pressed his lips ever so gently on hers. It lasted no more than two seconds, but it felt like an eternity. She had closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she saw that he was looking down at her, still holding her face in his hands, and with a smile on his face._

_

* * *

_

(Present Day)

"It was a nice kiss, if I do say so myself," Draco said. He said, "Would you like a reenactment?"

"Do you remember how to kiss me just right, you know, make my toes curl and all?" she asked. She had a slight smile on her face.

"I can give it whirl, and if it's not up to snuff, you can show me what I did wrong. Do we have a deal?" he asked.

She merely nodded.

He stood her up, and put one arm on her back, below her neck, and the other came up to her face. He kissed the corner of her mouth, softly, and then skimmed his tongue lightly over her bottom lip. Her hands came up to the back of his head, and she moved her head slightly to the side. He kissed her harder, opened her mouth under his, and then he made a trail of sweet kisses to her ear, where he said, "I love you more today than the day I first told you that I loved you."

_

* * *

_

_(Flashback from "A Week in the Life")_

_He pulled her around to face him and said, "How have I used you, Granger? By giving you a job that you apparently enjoy and are quite good? By buying you things, and taking you places, and enjoying every minute or every day with you? Have I used you by loving you, Hermione? Because, I do, I bloody well love you. Does that make me the bad person again? Am I once again 'Big Bad Malfoy' because I love you?" He was so angry that he was actually turning red._

_She looked up at him through her tears and said, "You love me? You really love me?"_

_"Well, ten points to Miss Granger for her wonderful deduction skills. What made you finally figure that one out, the fact that I just spelled it out so plainly?" he argued._

_"I love you, too," she said, while turning her back to him._

_

* * *

_

(Present Day)

"I'm not sure that's the wonderful happy memory you claim it to be, because we had just had a big fight, but I guess it was the first time we said it to each other," Hermione said. She put her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry I'm sick again."

"You won't be for long. I know you'll get better soon," he said. He held her tight. If he didn't really believe that, he would surely go insane. He would die if she died, and that was the cold, hard, truth.

**The Long and Winding Road:**

Five months ago, Hermione went in for her yearly physical, she had just had her CT-scan, her blood work, and she was back in the doctor's office to get the results. She said, "I have a swelling under my left armpit. I think it's a cyst. Do you think you could look at it, I mean, I know you're a surgeon/oncologist, but if you think it's just a cyst, I'll go to my family doctor about it."

The doctor frowned. He examined the 'lump'. It wasn't just a cyst.

Damn.

She really, really didn't know how she was going to tell anyone this time. The thing was, she wasn't thrown for a loop this time. She felt more prepared. In the back of her mind, she thought she would get sick again. She had just hoped it would be a long time from now. She called Draco to meet her for lunch in the park. She said, "Come alone, without the kids."

Somehow, he just knew.

He came without the kids. However, he did tell Harry, Ron, and Ginny to meet them at their house. He walked up to the park bench, and smiled. She smiled back. He took her hand and said, "Its back isn't it?"

She nodded. He sat down, and held her as she cried. This time, he was the strong one. It wasn't just an act. He would help her through it, and not make any mistakes. He felt it was somehow his fault, and he would take care of it.

They went home and told their friends.

Later that night, Olivia and James came into the living room, laughing and holding hands. They had been shopping for things for the wedding. Olivia saw her mum, her dad, and Ginny, Ron and Harry, and thought nothing about it. She said, "Mum, I found the perfect veil today. It'll look so pretty with grandmother's dress."

Her smile began to fade as her eyes went from Hermione's, to Draco's, and then to the rest. James immediately knew something was wrong. Olivia turned and ran from the room, screaming one word. "NO!" James ran after her. He banged on her bedroom door. She had locked it with a spell, but had not put a silencing charm on it. He heard her anguished cries, and he cried, too. He fell to the floor outside her door and continued to bang on it. He begged her to let him in the room. She ran into her closet, and sat on the floor. She didn't even turn on a light. She sat there, with her shoes around her, and her clothing hanging around her head, and she rocked back and forth and said, "My mother is dying."

Hermione had another surgery. This time, her cancer was in her breasts, and her lymph nodes. They said it was still considered kidney cancer, because that was where her cancer originated. She had something called Adenocarcinoma. It did not matter to Hermione what it was called. She had a double mastectomy and removal of her lymph nodes. She was undergoing Chemotherapy. This time, she lost most of her hair. Thank goodness for magic. Draco had a wig made for her from a wizard who made wigs for witches who lost their hair due to cancer. Hermione swore it looked and felt just like her own hair.

The main thing for Hermione was that none of their lives be turn upside down because of her illness. She wanted everything to carry on as normal as possible. That was why she insisted that Olivia go through with the wedding. This might be the only wedding of one of her children Hermione would ever get to attend and she wanted it more than she wanted anything.

**Two of Us:**

Olivia peeked out her bedroom door. She didn't see anyone. She walked to the top of the stairs. She saw Harry walking past down below in the foyer. "Harry, could you get James for me? He should be getting reading in Dad's study."

"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony," Harry said. He started to walk up the stairs. "Can I help you with anything."

"No, I need James. I need to tell him that I can't marry him today," Olivia said.

Harry ran up the stairs and took Olivia's elbow, and led her back to her room. He shut her door and said, "Would you like to tell me why you've come to this conclusion?"

"I can't leave home, not now. My mum needs me. She's so sick Harry. She can't even stand for more than twenty minutes at a time. She spent all last night throwing up. I can't leave her right now," She started to cry again. She took her veil off. "I can't leave her."

"Hermione wouldn't want you to give up your dream for her," Harry said, as he sat beside her. "Listen, Olivia, the way I figure it is that your mum has so many people who love her, and we'll all help take care of her. It doesn't have to all fall on you. Your dad is still healthy, and he's doing a bang up job. Ginny, Ron, and I are helping. Even Blaise is helping. You need to start your life. If you want your mum to be truly happy, you'll get married. It's what she wants."

"What about what I want?" she asked.

"You really don't want to get married?" Harry asked.

"I want to be married," she said, "I want the wedding," she added, "but, I don't want to leave my mum. I don't want to go to college, not yet. I've spent the whole last year roaming around Europe and North America, when I could have been at home with my family. I don't want to give up one minute with her. Harry, if she dies, I don't know what I'll do." She put her head on his shoulder. He turned and scooped her up in his arms. He held her and rocked her, as if she were a child, and not a 20-year-old woman. "Do you know, I was the very first person to ever hold you, when you were a baby?"

"I know," she said.

"Livy, honey, I'm here for you. You don't have to take on this load by yourself. You're more like your mother than you realize. She never let anyone help either. I won't let you break my son's heart, or your mother's heart. You will get married today. If you don't want to go to school right now, well, James will understand. He can still go. You can go next year, when your mother feels better," Harry announced.

"Do you think she will be better by then, or do you think she will be gone by then?" Olivia asked.

"If I didn't think she would be better, I wouldn't be long for this world myself," Harry said. He cried right along with her. Truthfully, he didn't know what to think.

_

* * *

_

_(Flashback from "A Third Week in the Life")_

_"We are so sorry, but rest assured, we are doing everything we can for both of them." The doctor had stopped talking, but as far as Draco was concern, he hadn't understood a word the man said after he said, 'Mr. Malfoy'. Draco looked at both men, pleading with them to explain, when Harry came in the room._

_Draco swallowed hard and said, "Potter, I don't know what they just said to me. Please, ask them to repeat it to you." Draco sat on the couch, hung his head, and started to cry._

_The doctor repeated everything to Harry, and Harry thanked him and shook his hand. He told the Chaplain thanks, but "we won't need your services at the moment." He sat next to Draco, who was still weeping, silently, with his head hanging, staring at the floor._

_Draco had a 'whooshing' noise in his ears. He felt like a hippogriff had kicked him right in the chest. Harry actually put his hand on Draco's back, just as their friends all entered the room. Harry was glad for their presence. He would only have to say everything once._

_"Draco," Harry began. Draco didn't look up. "Hermione's water broke, but she wasn't ready for it to, and she wasn't ready to have the baby. Her blood pressure was very high, and the baby's heart rate was very low. So, they had to do an operation, and they had to cut Hermione open and remove the baby." At this, Draco looked up and stood._

_"They cut my wife open? What? How barbaric! They cut her open?" he repeated, now walking around the room like a caged animal._

_Harry stood up, just in case he would have to restrain Draco. "That's not all, Malfoy," Harry said, "the baby was very, very small. She's not doing very well. They have her in a special ward for very sick babies, and they're working really hard to save her life."_

_Draco felt like throwing up, so that's what he did. He found a trash bin and threw up. He knelt by the can and rocked back and forth. "Where's my wife? They said something about her too, but I can't remember!"_

_Harry came up behind him, "Hermione's blood pressure suddenly dropped very low. She lost a lot of blood, and went into shock. The only way to stop the bleeding was to do another operation, called a hysterectomy." At that, Dean Thomas hissed an intake of air. All of the purebloods in the room looked at him and then at Harry._

_Draco stood up and asked, "What does that mean?"_

_"I'm so sorry, Malfoy," Harry said, finally sitting on the couch, scarcely able to say the words, "It means Hermione can't have any more children."_

_"They butchered my wife, like she was an animal," Draco said slowly and void of emotion. He was almost apathetic. He stood up and said, "What else? They said something else, tell me, what else."_

_Harry, who by this time had his own head in his hands, said with a hitch in his voice, "At this time they can't wake her up. She's in the Intensive Care Unit, and they said she is unconscious right now."_

_Draco knew what that meant. It meant his wife was probably going to die, as was his child. He wanted to go far, far away. Running away from difficult situations was what he did best, but his family needed him. He looked at Harry and said, "Can we have them transferred to St. Mungo's?"_

_"I really think they're getting the best care we can hope for here. This is the top hospital in all of London. I think we shouldn't try to do anything rash at the moment," Harry said, then, surprising even himself, he started to cry as well. Ginny, who had already been crying, put her arms around her husband and held him tight. He put his head in her lap._

_Blaise asked, "What can we do?"_

_"Wait," Harry responded. That's all they could do, was wait._

_Draco thought how poignant and sad the whole affair was. They had been waiting all these months for this moment, and now that it was here, he wished it had never occurred._

_After almost an hour, a different doctor came into the little waiting room. "Which one of you is Mr. Malfoy?"_

_Draco stood. The doctor introduced himself as the head of the Neo-natal ICU, and then said, "Would you like to see your daughter?"_

_"No," Draco said._

_Ginny stood up and said, "Draco, go see your baby."_

_"Listen, you may boss everyone else around, but not me. I don't want to see her until Hermione does," he stated, without anger or malice._

_"I'm the uncle," Blaise lied, "so is he," pointing to Harry, "May we please go see her?" The man said yes and escorted them to see the baby._

_They had to put on yellow gowns, and paper masks. They entered a room with many strange looking machines, and strange noises. There were so many people walking around. Little Olivia Alexis Malfoy was in a little plastic looking box, which confused both of the men. She was so tiny, red, and had a bunch of dark curls on top of her head. She had a tiny white tube taped to her face that was going into her nose. She had a tube in her abdomen, and a funny looking tube in her leg. It was the saddest thing either man had ever seen._

_"Which one of you is the father?" a nurse asked._

_"We're the uncles. The father is having an emotional breakdown right now," Blaise said._

_"You can reach in there and touch her, if you want," the nurse said. Harry looked at Blaise, who shook his head no. Harry walked over to his best friend's baby, and felt so sad for her, and for Hermione. He felt like crying again, but he decided to be strong for little Olivia. He could not believe how much love he already felt for her. If he loved this little girl just because he loved her mother, how much more would he love his own children someday? He reached in one finger and stroked her dark hair._

_

* * *

_

(Present Day)

Harry stroked Olivia's hair as he told her it would be okay. He didn't hear the door open. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and there was Draco. "Hermione wants to see you, Harry. I'll take care of Olivia." Harry stood up, with Olivia still in his arms, and he passed her to her father, as if she were a small child. Draco sat back on the bed and held her tight. He had no words of comfort for her. He could just let her cry.

"Olivia, I'm going to tell you a story that I have never told a single soul, in my whole life, not even your mother. You need to stop crying for a minute, and listen to me okay?" He sat his grown daughter down on the bed, but kept his arms around her.

_

* * *

_

_(Flashback from "A Third Week in the Life")_

_Right after Hermione's C-section and hysterectomy, she got a terrible blood infection, and then she went into heart failure. The doctors tried to wean her from her ventilator after the first week, but it was apparent that the blasted machine was the only thing keeping her alive. Her life was being held to this earth by a simple string. The hospital staff told Draco to hope for the best, but expect the worse. They told him that decisions needed to be made soon. Just as things seemed to be at their bleakest for Hermione, a mere two weeks after Olivia' s birth, Hermione seemed to turn the proverbial corner, as if a true miracle occurred._

_It was early morning, and Draco and Harry had taken up the vigil by Hermione's bedside. Draco was a permanent resident at the hospital, but on that particular morning, as the doctors tried to figure out what to do next, and just as they had told Draco that he might want to consider removing the ventilator, their small circle of friends joined in the watch. Draco told Potter that he needed to be alone, to have some time to think about things._

_He left his wife's bedside, kissing her cheek before he went. He looked back at her sad, small, pathetic, ailing body and thought, 'is she even still in there?' As he started to roam the hallways, he thought about how she was getting weaker and weaker. Could she really get better? Was that possible? He continued walking down the labyrinth of hallways, turning corner after corner, not even knowing where he was going, or if he would find his way back. He felt like this Muggle hospital was his new home. It had been the only home his child had known in the last two weeks, and it might well be the only home his wife would know before she died._

_He turned down another hallway, and saw a large set of oak doors, pushed halfway opened, that seemed to beckon to him, calling his name. He was forced to enter, as a moth was forced to a flame. The little room was like a lighthouse, a beacon of sorts, calling to him. It called, and he answered. He entered._

_The room was empty, save for Draco. There was one window, at the end of the room, with many different coloured panes of glass. No light came from behind the glass, for it was a grey, stormy day. He sat on one of the little wooden benches lined up in the room, and hung his head and cried. He had cried more times as an adult, than he had cried his entire childhood. The fact of the matter was he had cried more these two weeks than he ever had. He sat there, crying, reflecting on his journey through life, on his wife's perilous journey to possible death, and his little girl's journey to live. Could his wife be brought back from the brink of death, or was it too late?_

_An elderly man entered the little room. He sat on the bench next to Draco. Draco didn't even look up. The man asked, "Is there something troubling you, son?'_

_Draco, who rarely talked to strangers, let alone confided in them, felt as compelled to talk to this man, as he had felt obliged to enter this little room, so he said, "My wife is dying."  
"How do you know?" the man asked._

_"That's what the doctors told me," Draco explained, "They say she's growing weaker everyday, and she's being kept alive by a machine. I don't know what to do. We just had a baby. She's in this hospital too, but she's getting better everyday, while my wife is getting worse. I can't have a baby without my wife." Draco started to cry again._

_"You won't have to," the man concluded._

_"How would you know?" Draco asked sharply._

_The man put his hand on Draco's arm and said, "I have faith, don't you?"_

_"Not anymore," Draco responded._

_"That's a shame, you should," the man responded back._

_"But the doctors said she's not getting any better," Draco tried to reason._

_The man said, "Doctors don't know everything, Draco. After all, they're just men. Men don't control the fate of the universe. They only know what their limited minds allow them to know, and nothing more."_

_"And what do you know? You're being very vague," Draco commented, not even realizing that the man had said his name._

_"I'm not being vague, I'm being specific," the man corrected, "Look deeply in your own heart. It's telling you the truth, you just refuse to listen."_

_"To what should I be listening?" Draco pondered._

_"Listen for the truth, it's there, right in your heart," the man said, putting his hand over Draco's heart. "Tell me what your heart truly says to you?"_

_"Truthfully?" Draco asked._

_The man laughed slightly and said, "Well, I wouldn't want you to lie, so yes, tell me truthfully."_

_Draco said, "My heart is truthfully telling me that my wife will be fine, but it's at conflict with my head, which tells me that my wife might die. My head tells me to prepare for the end, and my heart tells me this is just the beginning. My head agrees with the doctors, and believes there's a strong possibility that she may die, and my heart tells me not to lose faith, that all is not lost, and that no matter what, life is not so unkind to give me a beautiful wife and daughter, to turn around and take one away from me."_

_"There's your answer. There's your truth," the man said, nodding. Draco looked at him confused, so the man clarified, "Listen to your heart, trust in your faith, you'll find out what's true."_

_Draco looked back at the floor. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. This man, this stranger, was right. Deep down, Draco knew the answer. He knew it the moment he was drawn into this little room. He lifted his head to thank the man, but he was inexplicably gone. Draco stood and looked around. He hadn't heard the man leave. He couldn't have been a wizard, because he would have heard him disapparating. Where could he have gone? He wanted to thank him._

_Draco said, to the air in the room, "Thank you." Without warning, the sun began to streak through the tinted windowpanes, creating a prism, a collage of colours, which danced on the opposite wall. As he watched the dancing colours, yellow, green, blue, the feeling of constant foreboding, which he had felt since the first day Hermione entered the hospital, lifted._

_He left the little room and easily found his way back to the ICU unit. Before he turned down the last hallway, which would lead him to the end of his journey and to the doors to the ICU, Potter came running down the hallway. Without knowing why, Draco started running to meet him._

_Draco saw Potter smiling. All he said was, "She's alright! They don't know why, but she's awake, and they were able to remove her ventilator!"_

_

* * *

_

(Present Day)

"Did you ever tell Mum that story?" Olivia asked.

"I told you, I've never told anyone," Draco said.

"Who do you think that man was?" Olivia asked.

"I've thought of that a lot over the years, and I've come to many different conclusions, some which make sense, some which don't," he explained. "There have been times over the years that I though it was Hermione's father, although I know he's dead. I don't know why I thought that. I've seen pictures of him, but the thing is, as well as I remember that incident, I really don't remember what the man looked like. Other times, I thought, hell, it could have been an angel."

Olivia couldn't help laughing, "Hell, I guess so," she mocked. Only her father would use the word 'hell' and 'angel' in one breath.

"There were other times I thought it was a figment of my imagination, you know, my mind taking over at a time when I felt out of control, and telling me what I needed to know," he said.

Olivia looked down, "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Honey, as strongly as I felt that day, after that man talked to me, that she would truly be alright, is how strongly I feel that she will pull through again. It's not false hope, because hope can't be false. It's not just what I want and need; it's what I truly feel deep in my heart. Your mummy is going to pull through this."

Olivia wasn't so sure. She stood up and went over to her dresser. "Oh, goodness, I look a frightful sight."

"You'll look a tad better than I did on my wedding day. I was hung over, you know," Draco said. "Sometimes I wish I could do it again."

Olivia turned to her father quickly and said, "Why not? Why couldn't you! Why didn't I think of this before?" Olivia started walking back and forth, talking to herself, "We don't have much time," and "I could wear something else, maybe Ginny's dress, and mummy could wear this," and "I think it will work."

"What are you babbling about, Olivia?" Draco asked his daughter.

"Dad, would you like to get married today, too?"

To be concluded…


	10. Day Eight, Year Eight, Part IIEpilogue

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Chapter 8, Part II, Day 8, July 2, Saturday, The Wedding, Year eight**

**What do you want**?

"You're crazy, Olivia. We can't get married today. This is your day. I won't ruin that, and I know that your mother won't either," Draco said.

"No, not at the same time, I know Mum wouldn't do that," Olivia said, "But afterwards, after the reception, when it's just the family here, and before we go to our honeymoon. Please? I'll talk to Mum about it." She didn't wait for her father's reply, she ran out of her room toward her mother's room. She started to open the door slowly, in case she was sleeping. She was talking to Harry Potter. Olivia stayed in the doorway and listened.

"I feel the same way, Hermione," Harry said. "I've loved Olivia since the day she was born, so in a way, she's always been a part of my family anyway, so I feel the same things for her that you feel for James."

"That's good, because, if something does happen to me, she'll need you all," Hermione said. Olivia sucked in a breath, but continued to listen outside. "And more important, you have to remember Draco. Don't abandon him just because I'm not around anymore."

"Goodness, Hermione, do you think that lowly of me? Frankly, we're having this conversation for nothing, because nothing is happening to you, and so I can continue my disdain of Malfoy in the fashion I have grown to love. Don't worry." Harry kissed her hand.

"Harry, just saying something doesn't make it so, you don't control everything, you know, even though you think you do," she said.

"And you don't know everything, even though you think YOU do," he answered back, with a chuckle.

Olivia decided to show herself. She knocked on the door and opened it wider. "Hi there, may I come in?"

"Do you need your mum?" Harry asked.

"You can stay. I have a proposition to make," Olivia said. She explained her idea to Hermione and Harry. Harry loved the ideal. Hermione, however, shook her head no.

"I want you to wear that dress, it's been fitted for you, and I've always wanted my daughter to get married in my wedding dress," Hermione said.

"If that's your only objection, we'll find you something else to wear," Olivia said.

"Honey, it's the sweetest thing anyone has ever thought to do, but I'm so tired now. How will I feel by the end of the day? I can't do that, I'm sorry, but thank you." She stood up and said, "Now, you need to go fix your makeup, and I need to get downstairs, because our guests will be arriving soon."

"Mum, I want this. I need this. I need to know that I made a difference in your life," Olivia said. "You regretted the way your wedding turned out, and it is in my power to change it. You're giving me the wedding of my dream, so I want to give you one as well. I'll do this for you. Please, let me do this for you." She felt so nervous. She wanted her mother to say yes so badly.

Hermione finally understood. It was Olivia's way of showing gratitude, but in a way, it was for closure. "Can we wait and see how I feel later?"

"Is that a maybe?" Olivia asked with a smile.

"It's not a no," Hermione said.

Harry laughed and said, "It's a yes."

"No, it's just not a no," Hermione corrected. Olivia jumped up and down and ran in Hermione's closet. "She's as bad as her dad. At least he had a week to plan our wedding, she wants to plan one in an hour."

"Yes and her hour wedding will be one hundred times better than my one week wedding," Draco said from the door. He walked in and shut the closet door, with Olivia still in there. He said, "If you don't want to do this, you don't have to. I'll let her down easy."

"I know, we'll see, okay, but just in case I feel up to it, I expect some incredible vows from you. After all, you've had twenty years to think about them," Hermione said, pointing her finger at him.

"Yes, but only a few minutes since I've known about it," he said.

"I wrote your vows all those years ago," she said. "I still have them." She stood up and walked over to her jewelry box. Harry opened the closet door and joined Olivia inside, shutting the door behind him, to give them some privacy.

Hermione took out a battered, torn, piece of parchment and unfolded it. She laughed and said, "Oh, no, this was my pro/con list on why we should or shouldn't get married."

He thought she was joking and he grabbed it from her. It was her pro/con list. "I remember when you wrote this!" he exclaimed. "Why did you save it?"

(_Flashback)_

_He smiled back at her and asked, "Do you want to marry me?"_

_She thought for a moment, and said, "Truthfully, I don't know." She looked down at the floor, afraid to make eye contact with him. She looked back up finally, he had a frown on his face, and he was staring at her intently._

_"Do you want to marry me?" she asked._

_"Yes, I thought I made that plain. What do you want me to do, write it in blood and seal it with a kiss?" he retorted. _

_"What?" she asked, "Are you daft? Just tell me why you want to get married."_

_"Because that's what I want," he surmised._

_"That's not an answer," she pointed out._

_He sighed, dropped his head on the table, and asked, "Are you ever going to want to marry me?" He didn't look up, mostly because he was afraid that her eyes would reveal the truth, even if she lied to him. When she didn't answer, he looked back up, and saw she was again writing on the piece of parchment. "Can't you stop what you're doing for a minute, Hermione, and answer my question?" he pleaded._

_"Oh, I just had something I had to add in my 'pro' column," she said, while still writing._

_"What are you going on about now?" he asked as he moved the parchment toward his side of the table. Sure enough, there is big bold letters was a pro and con list, aptly title, "Reasons Malfoy and I should get married." He began to read the list, and he said, "I don't think number three on the 'con' side is a valid point". He continued to read and laughed at one point and said, "Only you would put number seven as a 'pro', Granger." When he had finished reading the list, he took her quill from her, and wrote something under the 'pro' side and handed it back. He wrote: _

_"**Because he loves me**."_

_Underneath what he wrote, she wrote, "**Because I love him**". She handed the paper back to him and said, "You do see that I have twice as many 'pros' as I do 'cons'."_

_"So, what does this mean?" he asked._

_"I guess we're getting married," she replied matter of fact._

_He grinned, an almost wicked grin, and actually got up so fast from his chair that he knocked it over on the floor. He grabbed her and said, "Let's go finish what we started earlier. We can even do number eleven on your 'pro' list, if you want." She giggled and ran with him to the bedroom._

_(_Present Day)

Hermione went back over to her jewelry box and pulled out another torn piece of yellowed parchment. She unfolded it and said, "This is it." She folded it back and put it up her sleeve. "I might need this for later."

"Let me hear it now," he said.

"Later," she argued.

"What if you refuse to marry me later?" he asked.

"Then you'll never hear them," she reasoned.

"That's a bunch of Hippogriff shite!" he shouted.

Harry stood outside the closet, and took Olivia's hand. He laughed and said, "Olivia found something for Hermione to wear, and I found something for Draco, so we'll dash off and let you two fight, I mean, talk." They dashed out of the room, with the outfits they picked out hidden between them.

Draco walked back over to Hermione and said, "Let me hear my vows."

**With Each Breath: ****  
**  
"You'll hear my vows when I hear yours, this afternoon, at our wedding," she said.

"That means you want to get married again?" he asked, with a crooked smile.

"Oh, I was stupid enough to marry you once, I might as well be stupid enough to marry you again," she shrugged. He enveloped her in his arms, and held her tight. She put her head on his chest and sighed. "Besides, it's important to Olivia, I think."

"Is it important to you?" he asked, as he kissed the top of her head.

"I think it is," she said. "I remember when I went up to the attic of my old flat to get my mother's wedding dress. I was overcome with grief that she wouldn't be there with me, and that's why I left to go to the cabin, remember?"

He nodded and looked down in her eyes.

"Even though I'm right here, Olivia is overcome with the feeling that she's going to lose me, so if I can give her this, to comfort her, or reassure her, then I want to do it," she explained.

"Would it matter if I said I want it, too?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded. "It would mean a lot if you wanted it, too."

He cupped her face and kissed her lips. "I will love you until the last breath I take. I will love you until the earth stops spinning, and the stars burn out, and when that day comes, and we are no longer inhabitants of our mortal bodies, I will still love you. A love like ours doesn't die with our earthly bodies, but it carries on throughout eternity, through the lives of our children, and through the fibers of their memories," he said.

She shook her head and said, "That was a bit morbid, but also quite poetic. Those should be your vows."

He smirked and said, "Morbid? I said our love would surpass death and you say that's morbid?" He thought a minute, and added, "Okay, a bit morbid, I suppose. However, those vows are for your ears only."

"Then what shall you say at our wedding today?" she asked. She took his hand and sat on the bed. He sat beside her and brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss it lightly.

"I shall say, 'Here are the pros and cons of being married to Hermione', pro: she's makes me laugh," he said.

She said, "Con, I can also make you cry."

"Too true, too true," he said. "Pro, she's by my side through thick and thin."

She said, "Con, I cause as much turmoil as I solve."

"You have a point," he said. "Pro, she is beautiful and kind and generous."

With a completely straight face she said, "I have no con for that, carry on."

He laughed and said, "Pro, she is a wonderful lover, a wonderful wife, and a wonderful mother."

"True, true, and very true," she said. "You know what this means, Malfoy?"

"What?" he asked.

"You have more 'Pros' than 'Cons', so you simply have to marry me again! That's the rule. Whichever side has the most is the deciding factor," she explained.

"Why, I believe you're right, Granger, I believe you're right." He gave her his famous smirk and said, "I remember your pro/con list had more pros as well."

"Well…" she said.

"What?" he asked.

"It didn't really," she said.

"It did! I read it back then! I remember it did!" he said. He stood up, went over to her jewelry box, and took out the pro/con list. He read the list and said, "When did you add these other things?"

"Oh, just throughout the years," she said casually.

"Damn, Granger, you had better put some more pros on there, or I can't marry you today!" He threw the list at her, went over to the desk, and threw her a Muggle pen. "Start writing, missy!"

"What shall I write?" she asked, placing the pen in her mouth, and thinking intently.

"What shall you write?" he asked incredulously. "You can't even think of what to write?"

"Well, give me a minute," she said. He grabbed the pen from her mouth and the list from her hand. He went over to the desk and started furiously to write down things on her 'pro' side. She stood up and looked over his shoulder. She pointed at one thing he wrote and laughed. "You can't seriously put that on the pro side. That's a con!"

He turned on her quickly and said, "It's a pro and you know it!"

"It used to be pro, but it's not anymore," she said with a smile. "I'm not even still on a first name basis with it."

He stood up from the chair and said, "You can still call him 'little Draco' and you know it, and you better still think it's a pro! Shall I show you that it's still a pro?"

"No, we don't have time, and I'm not sure you're up to it, so to speak, so just go back to the list," she said.

He glared at her and said, "It's a pro, dammit!" He wrote a few more things on the list, and each time she tried to read them over his shoulder, he hid the list with his hand. Finally, he stood back up and handed her the list. "There, it's complete. Now, you have to marry me again!"

Hermione read the list and said, "You put number 14 twice."

"It bears repeating," he said. She folded the list and put it back in her jewelry box again.

"I would have married you again anyway," she said.

"Damn right you would have," he said. He went back over to the desk and said, "Now, leave me alone, I have some vows to write. What rhymes with Hermione, besides whiney?" She shook her head, laughed, and walked out of the room. She went toward the babies' nursery. She wanted to spend some time with the babies before the ceremony.

**Hopelessly in Love: ****  
**  
"I can't tie this damn thing," James said about his tie as his father walked in the study.

"I didn't know how to tie a tie either," Harry said, as he came up and began to tie his son's tie. "It's something usually a father teaches a son, but since I had no father, I had no tie tutorial. Imagine, there I was, on my wedding day, my best man, Uncle Ron, couldn't even tie his own tie, let alone show me. Mr. Weasley had on dress robes, not the traditional tuxedo that I chose to wear. I was about to give up, when Hermione came walking in, and took pity on me."

"She tied your tie?" James asked.

"Yes, she did. She taught me how, and now, I shall teach you." Harry talked his way through tying his son's tie. When he was finished he said, "Ta da, there you go son, a tied tie, ala Hermione."

"You know what my best memory of Hermione is?" James said, as he sat down on the couch in the study. His dad sat down next to him. "Once when I was young, I was snooping in her study. Olivia was up in her room, playing with dolls or something girly, and you and mum were in the hospital having Lily. Hermione was busy taking care of Al. I opened a box that was in her bottom desk drawer, and I saw this little red die cast train, with a coal car, and a red caboose. It was so small, and intricate. I played with it for a good half an hour, until I broke the connector between the train and the coal car. I was so upset. I shouldn't have been playing with it in the first place, and I broke it. I was afraid to tell anyone, so I just put it back in the box and put the box away."

"The next time I came to their house, she said she had a present for me. She gave me the little die cast metal train that she said belonged to her dad when he was a boy. She said that it was very old, and it used to sit on her father's bookshelf, in his office, when she was young. She said that she must have broken it the last time she had it out, but that she mended it good as new. She asked me if I wouldn't mind keeping it safe for her. She asked me to take it home, and put it on my own bookshelf, and if I would like, I could play with it every now and then."

"When I got older, I realized that she knew I broke it, and she didn't care. She loved me more than she did that old toy train. She spared my feelings. She always treated me like an adult, not a child. She never talked down to any of us kids." James hung his head. "I don't know what Olivia will do if her mum doesn't get better. I think it'll destroy her. I feel like it will destroy me. She's been a part of my life my whole life. She's more than just my future mother-in-law. She's more than my father's best friend. She's one of the most important people in my life."

Harry stood up and said, "I don't want to talk about this right now." He wanted to comfort his son, but he didn't know how. Words were inadequate. Anyway, how do you comfort someone when you need comforting yourself? Harry said, "I think Olivia wants to talk to you about something. She wants her parents to get married after you two do. Shall I send her down?"

"Isn't it bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before their wedding?" James asked.

Harry expelled a small laugh and said, "Son, the only luck we have in this life is what we make for ourselves. Fate is a fickle thing. What's going to happen is going to happen, and we can't do anything about it one way or the other." He was referring to much more than James seeing Olivia in her wedding dress. He walked out of the room and passed Olivia in the hall.

"Is James in there still?" she asked.

Harry nodded. Olivia knocked on the door.

James opened the door and took her hand. He ushered her in the room and said, "My dad told me your plan. I love the idea."

"You do?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I do," he said, assuring her.

"We'll have to wait to go to our honeymoon," she said.

"I don't care," he said. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "I would move heaven and hell if I could, to only make you happy, Olivia."

"Thank you, James, now I have a couple of other requests," she said. She looked down at their clasped hands. She didn't know how to start.

"You aren't having second thoughts, are you?" he asked.

"James, we've been planning on marrying each other most of our lives, so no, no second thoughts," she said. She started to cry again. She knew today would be emotional. "I want you to promise me something, please. It's the only thing I will ever ask of you."

He cupped her cheek and said, "You can ask me anything, at anytime, and like I said, if it's in my power to do it, I'll do it. What do you want?"

"Two things," she said. "I don't want to start University this fall. I want to take correspondence courses for a while. I want to be with my mum."

"Okay, we can do that," he said.

"No, just me. I still want you to go," she said.

He smiled and said, "I'm not marrying you to be away from you. We both will wait a year or so. What else?"

"I want to live here. In the house. The attic is large, and we could make it into a living space, make our own little apartment. Please? I mean, I know we already have our house, the one your dad gave me when I was born, and I know we're all ready to move in there, but I want to stay here."

"Done. Anything else while we're at it?" he inquired, smiling.

"You aren't usually this much of a push-over," she said, smiling back.

"Haven't you heard? It's my wedding day. I'm happy. I'm pretty compliant when I'm happy," he said with a shrug.

"I shall have to remember that," she said. "The last request is a big one."

"Whatever it is, the answer is yes. Yes."

"What?" she asked. "Don't you want to know what it is?"

"No."

"James, it's a big thing," she said.

"I already know what it is," he assured her.

"There's no way you could know this one," she confirmed, shaking her head.

He put his hands on her face, and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. He looked her right in the eye and said, "If anything happens to your mum, and if we have to, I will be more than happy to help you raise Emmy and Ian, my love."

She threw her arms around him and cried.

**If: **

Olivia walked down the long grand staircase in the entry hall of Edgewood, with her veil flowing behind her. She looked beautiful on her father's arm. Hermione took two deep breaths to keep from crying. She didn't want to miss a thing by crying. She held onto Harry's arm, for support. He let go of his wife's hand, and put his arm around Hermione's waist. Ginny understood.

"Who gives this woman to be wed?'

"Her mother and I," Draco responded.

James was smiling and looked happier than Hermione had ever seen him look. Olivia started to cry. Hermione never heard another word. From the point when Draco came and stood by her side, until Olivia and James kissed, she didn't hear a thing. She only heard a loud-echoed, noise in her ears. She saw everything as if she was in a long tunnel, and was watching it from behind a glass peephole. She could see what was happening, but not make out anything clearly. Everything went in slow motion. She didn't question it, and she wasn't concerned. She just figured it was the way it was.

She didn't even know when she started to cry, but cry she did. Her whole life passed before her, like a slide show. She was scared for a moment, because that wasn't supposed to happen, until you died, and she wasn't ready to die. She held onto Draco's arm, and looked up at him. He looked down at her, concern etching his face. He asked her a question, but she couldn't hear him. He touched her face. She could only shake her head no before she collapsed and everything went dark.

**Not Dead, Really Not Dead:****  
**  
"Hermione?"

"Get her some water!"

"Mummy, are you okay?"

"Did anyone see what happened?"

"Get her to St. Mungos."

"Everyone, give her some room."

"Hermione?"

Hermione opened her eyes and asked, "Am I dead?" She meant it as a joke. No one laughed. She frowned and said, "Maybe I am dead, because no one laughed."

"Maybe no one laughed because you have never been, nor will you ever be, funny," Draco said, as he brushed his fingers across her face, and kissed her head.

"What happened?" she asked. She was on the couch in the study. The couches in the living room had been removed for the reception, so Draco carried her in here.

"Who knows? You fainted, I presume," Draco said.

She tried to sit up, but was forced back down. She saw the concerned faces of all her loved ones. "I'm so embarrassed. Did I ruin the wedding? Please, tell me that I didn't ruin the wedding. Tell me that Olivia had the wedding that I never had!" She was becoming frantic.

Olivia stood on the other side of the couch, against the back, and took her mother's hand. "It was a beautiful wedding, Mum. You waited until we kissed and everything, so don't worry about a thing."

"I didn't want to ruin your wedding. I think I'm just tired," she said. She tried to sit up once more and was pushed down again, this time by Harry.

"Don't sit up yet. I called the healer, and he's on his way," Harry said.

"I'm not going to lie on the couch during my daughter's reception," Hermione said. She sat up again, and she would curse the next person who tried to push her back down.

The healer came, and examined her in her room. She was dehydrated, and that was all. She was sick the night before, she hadn't taken enough liquids in to replenish all that she had lost, added to the stress of the day, and she just fainted. Draco sat beside her on the bed, with Emmy and Ian playing on the floor beside them. Blaise came up and said, "Draco, it's time for the father/daughter dance, and if you don't get your arse down there, Harry Potter will take over, and I for one would rather not see that."

"Hermione, do you mind?' Draco asked.

"Just tell them to wait for me to cut the cake," Hermione said. Blaise sat next to her, and then, as if on cue, he put his body beside hers to lie down next to her. Draco took the two toddlers downstairs with him.

"Hermione, may I do anything for you?" Blaise asked. He stroked his fingers up and down her arm.

"As a matter of a fact, yes," Hermione said. "Help me downstairs so I can watch them cut the cake, and then, can you help me dress for my own wedding?"

"Do you feel up to that now?" he asked.

"I want to do this, for Olivia and for Draco," she said. He continued to move his hand up and down her arm.

"What about for Hermione?" he asked.

"For her, too," she laughed.

"Would you rather Ginny come up and help?" he asked.

"Would you rather Ginny come up and help?" she asked back.

"No, I can help you. I want to," he said. He stood up. She gave him her hand. He pulled her up. They went downstairs. Everyone was glad to see that she was feeling better. After they cut the cake and had the toast, Hermione told Olivia that she was going to go upstairs and get dressed for her own ceremony.

"Really, Mum? You mean it?" Olivia asked with a grin.

"I never say anything I don't mean. Tell your father to get ready. I have to go get dressed. Blaise is going to help me. He's going to walk me down the aisle this time." She looked over to Blaise and held out her hand. He stood up from his table and walked over to her.

"Blaise, after you help me dress, will you walk me down the aisle, give me away and all of that?" she asked.

He thought it would be the world's biggest honour, so he said, "If I must."

Hermione thought it was the least she could do for him. He had been such a good friend to them all these years, and after all, he did love her. As they walked up to her room she said, "It won't be a pretty sight. I have fake hair and fake breasts, you known."

"I wasn't aware," he joked. "I though you seemed rather better endowed as of late."

"Ha!" she barked. She said, "Olivia picked out a dress that I wore the first time Draco and I went on a date. I hope it still fits me." She felt so tired, but she had to forge on, so she said, "It's on the back of the closet door, will you get it for me?"

He helped her to sit on the bed, and then he walked over to the closet door. He brought the dress to her, and took it out of the dress bag. He threw it across a chair and sat back down beside her. He took her hand and she leaned against his shoulder.

"I love you, Hermione," he said.

"I know," she said. She started to cry. "I wish I could have loved you the way you loved me all these years. Promise me something."

"You may ask, but I probably won't do it, but what is it?" he asked, kissing her cheek. He put his arms around her.

"Marry someone, anyone, for goodness sakes!" She started to laugh.

"Oh, Hermione, I've been married four times. Isn't that enough?" he said with a sigh.

"I want you to be happily married," she clarified.

"If it's any consolation, I'm pretty damn contented right now," he told her. He kept his left arm around her shoulders, and reached over with his right hand. He brought her face to his and said, "Will you allow me to kiss you?"

She nodded.

He bent his head and gave her a chaste kiss on the mouth. He looked in her eyes and with his hand on her face, he said, "Now, let's get you ready to get married again. Too bad it's to the same groom this time."

"You always comfort me when I'm getting married," she recalled.

"Yes, well, what is a best man for, if it's not to comfort the bride?" he asked.

_(Flashback to "Another Day in the Life")_

_Hermione asked, "What time is it?"_

_"Nearly time," Harry said._

_"Have you guys seen Malfoy?" she asked._

_"No, why, isn't he here?" Harry asked frostily. _

_Before Hermione could respond, Blaise Zabini appeared at the door. "Hey chaps, mind if I speak to the bride for a moment; alone?" Before they could answer in the affirmative, he pushed them out the door and shut it tight._

_Blaise entered the room, whistled, and then said, "You look lovely." _

_"Cut the crap, Zabini, where's Malfoy?" she asked crossly._

_"Well, Granger, that's the thing, I really don't know. As soon as I got here, I looked for him and couldn't locate the bastard. I asked one of your elves if they had seen him lately and they said he left last night. Now, he didn't come to my house, or to the manor, because I already checked. I also checked your old flat. What happened? He wouldn't leave you at the altar, would he?" Zabini concluded._

_"I hope not," she said quietly._

_"What happened?" Blaise asked while sitting on the bed._

_"We discussed everything he was withholding from me, we fought, but I thought we still left each other under the assumption that the wedding was a go, but maybe I was wrong," Hermione said flatly._

_"He told you everything?" Blaise said unbelievably._

_"Yes," she responded._

_"Interesting," he responded._

_"What if he doesn't show?" Hermione said with a tear falling from her eye._

_"Do you want me to go down and tell the guests to leave?" Blaise asked. "I would love to tell all those former little Gryffindors to go to hell and not come back," he tried to joke. "Or, you could just marry me instead."_

_She walked up to him and hugged him. _

(Present Day)

Blaise helped Hermione dress. Her body didn't repulse him at all. In fact, he still thought she was beautiful, and deep down, he still didn't think Malfoy would ever be good enough for her, but the thing was, he wasn't either, and he knew that. No one was, at least, that was his opinion.

He helped her with her wig, which looked just like her real hair he had to admit. He helped her with her makeup. When she was all dressed she said, "Do you think I'll do?"

"I do," he answered. It was the only time he would ever get to say those two little words to her. He said, "I hope I don't have to comfort you after the ceremony this time, like I did the last time."

"Don't we all have that wish, Blaise," she retorted.

_(Flashback to "Another Week in the Life")_

_Blaise Zabini came walking back upstairs. Ron and Harry stood up and he told them, "I'm alone, don't worry. Draco's sound asleep at my flat." He then walked up to the door and said, "Hermione, its Blaise. May I come in?"_

_To Harry's and Ron's astonishment, the door opened and Zabini was admitted entrance. He closed the door behind him and sat next to Hermione on the bed."That was an interesting wedding," he said casually, as if he was mentioning the weather. When she didn't respond, he said, "Draco thought Harry told you about the Muggle-born clause of the law. He came here tonight fully with the thought that you wouldn't be here. He thought you would leave him at the altar. He told me he was shocked when he saw you standing there in your dress. He didn't know what to do."_

_"So he ruined our wedding?" Hermione finally spoke._

_"Yeah, I guess that's what he decided was best. He probably thought you would stop it at some point, so he might as well be the bastard we all know he can be. I don't know what goes on in his head," Blaise said truthfully. Then he said, "What you heard him say tonight in the dining room, about him only marrying you because you're a Mudblood, well, that was taken out of context. He just said that because he thought that was what you thought. For what its worth and I realize it's not worth much at this point, he really does love you."_

_"I know," answered Hermione meekly._

_"You know I lied to you too, Hermione," he told her, while holding her hand._

_"Yeah? What was your lie?" she asked._

_"That day at the restaurant when you asked me if Draco ever showed any interest in you before you started dating, I told you no; that was a lie. I remember back in fourth year after the Tri-Wizard Yule ball, Draco and I, under strictest secrecy, confided to each other that you were the most beautiful girl there that night. Then after this whole pureblood marriage shite came to pass, he said he had always fancied you and that if it was the last thing he was going to do, he was going to make you his." _

_"He said that now he had the perfect excuse to date you and if any pureblood wizard questioned his choice, he could just pretend it was because of the law." At that, Hermione turned to look at him. "But, he confided his true feeling to me and me alone. He said he really liked you, and, I know that he did. Also, I know that he now loves you, as much as Draco Malfoy can love someone, he loves you." Blaise stood to leave and ended with, "I'm not saying forgive him right away. You should make him suffer a little, but then you should forgive him." With that, the former Slytherin left the room. _

(Present Day)

"Are you ready to get married?" Blaise asked.

"Well, yes, I guess so," she said. She took his hand and they went downstairs.

**Dance: **

Draco couldn't remember a time when his wife looked lovelier. She was even smiling. She had on the dress he bought her for their first date. It still fit; actually, it was a bit large on her now. He had to look a way for a moment. He felt embarrassed and ashamed that he had missed seeing her walk down the stairs during their first wedding, and that it was his entire fault.

She took her side beside him and he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Just wanted to get that out of the way," he said. Everyone laughed.

The Officiate began, "Welcome everyone. Draco and Hermione are honoured that you could all attend their recommitment ceremony. At the request of Draco, we'll keep this ceremony short. The loving couple has some words they would like to share with the other. Draco, would you start?"

Draco cleared his throat. He turned toward his wife of over 20 years and he began, "Hi, Granger."

"Hi, Malfoy."

"Who would ever have thought that you and I, of all the people in this world, nay, this galaxy, would find one another, and fall in love? I never thought it was possible. I continued to think it was a dream well into our marriage. The thing was, you were too good for me. You still are, but I have tried to earn your love and respect. If I have succeeded at all, I am a fortunate man indeed."

"Every time I've fallen down, you've been there to lift me up. Every time I've cried, you've dried my tears in an instance. When I felt lost in confusion, you made me understand. When I frowned, you made me smile."

"When I confessed to my sins, you didn't judge me. When I lost my way, you showed me the right direction. When I was afraid, you comforted me with your laughter.'

"When no one else gave a damn, you showed me that I mattered. When no one else believed in me, you helped me make a stand. Listen to my heart beating, for it beats only for you. It beats louder and longer and stronger, for you"

"With you, I'm no longer afraid or alone, it's just sometimes I love you so much and I don't know how to show it. Together, we can both be afraid, and we can even still feel alone, but I know that I love you deeper than just in my heart. I love you in my soul."

She smiled at him and nodded. He looked down at the floor and then back up to meet her gaze.

"Hermione, do you have a few words to say?" the Officiate asked.

"Draco, I've waited all my life for you. Sometimes I feel I'm still waiting. My life is full of questions with very little answers. I ask myself, where am I going, where have I come from, and where will this road lead me? The answer is simple…you. Just you."

"Why do I stand here, why do I hopelessly want you near, why do I cry when you leave? Then answer is, I love you."

"You came to my darkness, and gave me light. When my life was grey, you showed me the colours of the rainbow. You saved my heart from breaking, and you've helped me with this endless battle which I now find myself fighting."

"When I was younger, I believed in you, and now that I am older, I still do."

"I'll stand here forever, just waiting to see your face. I've waited all my life for someone to pull me through. I've waited all my life, for you."

Their bodies collided when he reached out for her, and brought her into his arms. Her eyes where bright and brilliant, and her skin warm and flushed. Slowly, he bent his head to hers and in the second before he touched his lips to hers he said, "I love you," and then he tasted her lips, which to this day, still tasted as sweet as the first time he kissed her, and would taste as sweet until the last time he kissed her. Their kiss was broken by the feel of small hands on Hermione's legs, and by the cry of their little one, who took that opportunity to yell out, "Momma!" Hermione broke from Draco's kiss, her eyes brimmed with tears, but a smile on her lips. She started to laugh, out of embarrassment or glee, and she bent down and picked up her son.

Draco held the little boy's hand, kissed it, and said, "You have rotten timing, son." He put his arms around them both. Olivia, who had been holding Ian before she let him down, turned to James, who was holding Emmy. She took her sister from his arms, and joined her family in an embrace. It seemed appropriate.

**When the Day is Done: **

Draco came in the bedroom from the bath, in his silk pajamas, and said, "Did you get the babies to sleep?"

Hermione was on her side, but her eyes were wide open. "Yes, they're sleeping," she answered and then she yawned. He leaned down, kissed her cheek, and then climbed over her body to lie beside her. She turned to the other side to face him, and he pulled her to him, so that she was cradled in his arms.

"It was a good day, wasn't it?" he asked, his hand on her back, his other on her arm. She rested her head on his chest, and put her hand under his shirt. She always liked falling asleep this way.

"Excellent day, excellent life, actually, Draco, so thank you," she said.

"No thanks required, just doing my job," he laughed. "Seriously, you gave me my life. You once told me that I gave you your life back, but you gave me my life back. Our gift to each other is equality. You give, I receive, I give, and you receive."

She was quiet for the longest time. He thought she went to sleep. He looked down at her, and as if she sensed his stare, she looked back up at him. They kissed again. They kissed as if it was their first kiss. Draco knew that he could not give her up, anymore than he could give up breathing. When they broke from the kiss, he asked, "what are you thinking?'

All she said was, "What a life it's been."

~*~The End~*~

*Stop reading if you want the fairy-tale happy ending. If you want a 'true to life' ending, read the epilogue.

* * *

Epilogue to "**The Week in the Life Series**"

The smoke from the train caused Emmy temporarily to lose sight of her family. She called out for them, and was startled when someone reached around her waist and swung her around.

"Gotcha!" James shouted.

Her fear subsided and she laughed. "James, I got lost."

"You certainly did, little girl. Olivia was beside herself with worry when she couldn't find you. Don't scare us like that, okay?" He took her hand and they started walking toward the others. She pulled on his hand to stop.

"James?" she asked.

James kneeled down in front of the beautiful little blond girl, whom he loved more than just as a sister, and more as a daughter, asked "What is it, Emmy?"

"Ian is really scared, you know. Maybe we should wait a year to go to school, like I heard Olivia did. She waited a year, until she could go with you," she said.

He pulled the little girl into his arms and said, "Ian will be fine. We'll write to him all the time, and you'll be there with him. Don't worry too much. Just try to enjoy school. I promise you one thing, if it ever gets too much to bear, I'll come up there personally and bring you both home, agreed?" She nodded. He took her hand again and went to find his wife.

Olivia was nervous about sending them to Hogwarts. She told James she wanted to hire a private tutor for them, but some of the best years of his and Olivia's lives had been spent at Hogwarts. He didn't want the twins to miss a thing. He knew it was just because Olivia would miss them. He wouldn't tell her he knew that was the reason, but it was.

As he walked up to their family, Emmy in tow, Harry approached them and said, "Emmy, don't run off again." He looked at James and said, "You do realize this one will probably be in Slytherin."

"Without a doubt," James laughed.

Blaise walked up to them and said, "Let's hope so. We need at least one Malfoy in Slytherin." He leaned down and said to Emmy, "Pick a hand." He held out both hands. She pointed to his left hand. He opened it and inside he had a galleon. She looked up and smiled and he said, "Get some treats on the train." He started to throw the coin he had in his other hand in the air. It didn't matter which hand she had picked.

Ian was holding onto Olivia's hand. Blaise walked up and said, "Here, Ian, a galleon for the train, to get some treats." The little fair-haired boy held out his hand and Blaise deposited the coin. He took Ian's hand from Olivia's and said, "Let's go look at the engine."

Harry took a sleeping baby, his first grandchild, from Ginny and said, "Olivia, I think Eric needs changed, because he smells really bad." Olivia laughed.

Ginny said, "There's a bench, over there, Grandpa, go change your first grandchild's nappies."

Harry held little Eric in his arms and said, "I saved the whole wizarding world and I get no respect, little one." He took the baby over to the bench.

Olivia stood there, wringing her hands together, and she said, "Emmy, did you remember everything?" The little girl rolled her eyes and walked toward Harry and the baby.

James put his arms around Olivia and said, "You're a nervous wreck." He took her hands in his and said, "Calm down, before you make them nervous. Little Ian is already a bundle of nerves. Everything will be fine."

"Where are they?" she said.

"The kids?" he asked, looking over at Emmy as she sat next to Harry and Eric on the bench.

"No, you know who I mean," Olivia said.

"He probably won't be here, Olivia," James said. He hugged his wife and said in her ear, "You knew he probably wouldn't come. Ron said he would try to find him, but you knew he probably wouldn't be able to."

Blaise walked toward them, and he was now holding the baby. "How did you get the baby from my dad?" James asked.

"I wrestled it from him," he laughed.

Olivia said, "I have one request, just don't drop him on his head."

Blaise chucked and said, "I only dropped you once, and you didn't turn out so bad."

Harry came toward them, put his arm around her shoulders, and said, "Unfortunately, he's telling the truth. You were six months old, and struggling to get away from his evil clutches, and he went to stand up from the couch, to give you back to your mum, and he dropped you on the floor. Your mum was so angry at him."

Olivia stood there in shock, with her mouth agape.

"I was never so proud," Blaise, said, rocking little Eric back and forth, his mother now reaching out for him. "You should have heard the line of curse words that came from Hermione's mouth." He passed the baby back to Olivia.

"You dropped me?" she asked, astounded.

"Yes, but like I said, no harm, no foul," Blaise said with a grin. "You turned out okay."

Olivia frowned and walked away from them. Blaise looked confused and said to James, "Really, it was so long ago. Why is she upset now?"

"She's not upset about that. She just still gets like that whenever we mention her mum," James told him. Blaise nodded and walked off after her.

Harry said, "She still tears up each time we talk about her. It's been five months since she's died."

"Some wounds don't heal, Dad," James answered. "The thing is that she hates whenever someone else brings her up, yet, and she wants to talk about her all the time."

Harry put his hand on his son's arm and said, "It helps me to talk about her. It keeps her alive somehow, at least to me. Emmy and Ian deserve to hear about her."

"Dad, don't start," James said. Ever since Hermione had died, James and his father have had a running discussion on how to raise Emmy and Ian. Harry thought they should come live with him and Ginny. Nevertheless, James had promised his wife on their wedding day that they would take care of the twins if anything ever happened to Hermione, and he would honour that promise.

"You two have so much on your plate, with the new baby, and your new job. It'll be somewhat easier now that they're in school, but I hate to see you both taking on so much, and at such a young age. If Draco was a man, and hadn't left, you wouldn't have had to take all of this on," Harry said maliciously.

"Well, he's not here, is he," James sighed with sarcasm. He really didn't want to get in another argument with his father about Draco.

"Don't be so touchy," Harry said.

"Well, don't you be so judgmental," James spat back. "Draco's handling this the best way he can."

"Yes, by running away," Harry said. "We all lost her."

James put his hand on his father's shoulder and said, "But she wasn't your wife, Dad. She wasn't my wife! She was his wife. He was her husband. As much as the rest of us loved her, there's a subtle difference, and also, everyone handles grief in their own way."

"But to abandon his children!" Harry complained.

Olivia walked up to them and interjected, "My dad didn't abandon his children. He left them in my capable hands, well, our capable hands. In addition, I don't want the kids to hear us arguing. This is hard enough on them, especially for Ian. He's not handling the loss of both his parents very well. Dad will come back when he can, if he can, but if he doesn't come back, I understand." She turned toward James, and said, "James, get the kids on the train, it's time."

**Full Circle: **

From their compartment on the train, Emmy and Ian leaned out the window and waved to their sister and their family. Emmy yelled, "Bye James, By Liv, by Eric! Bye Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny! Bye Blaise!" Ian sat back down in his seat. His sister turned to him and said, "Tell them bye, Ian." Ian started to cry.

His sister sat beside him and put her arm around him. Emmy jokingly said, "If you keep crying, the sorting hat might put you in Hufflepuff."

"Mummy always said there was nothing wrong with Hufflepuff," Ian said.

"Daddy said there was. Of course, Daddy said Gryffindor was worse than Hufflepuff," she said, "That's why I want to be in Slytherin."

"You probably will be," Ian said, "and then I'll be all alone."

Emmy stood up and sat on the bench opposite him and said, "Uncle Harry said you sometimes can make a choice. He said the sorting hat wanted to put him in Slytherin, and he told it not to. And Al was in a different house than his sister and brother, and he liked that. But, if you're still worried, whichever one of us gets up to the hat first, we'll tell it to keep us together, okay?"

Ian didn't seem any happier as the train started to roll out of the station. A little brown haired girl walked into their compartment, pointed to Ian, and said, "Why is he crying?"

"What's it to you?" Emmy asked, ready to take up for her brother.

"I didn't mean anything. I'm sorry, it's just, I wondered if someone was mean to him, or if he was hurt or something. My name is Diana Trenton. I'm a Muggle-born, by the way. May I sit here with you?"

Emmy nodded and moved over to let the girl sit next to her. "Our mummy was Muggle-born."

"Was?" the other little girl asked.

"She died in March," Ian answered for his sister.

"I'm sorry," Diana said. "I saw you at the station. I thought those people with you were your parents."

Emmy shook her head and said, "They are now. That was my sister, Olivia, and her husband James, and our Uncle Harry."

"Where's you dad?" the girl asked.

Emmy looked at Ian, and grew unusually quiet, so that Ian again answered. "He just went away. The day after our mummy died. No one knows where he is."

"Oh," Diana said in response. She didn't know what else to say. She decided it was best not to press her new friends any more. They seemed very sad in deed.

**Back at the Station: **

Olivia turned and put her head on James' shoulder. He put his arms around her and their baby. Their baby was born three days before Hermione died. She died of cancer. Her cancer came back the second time right before Olivia and James married. After a year, it went into remission, only to come back five years later. The third time, the cancer never left. She was sick that last time for a long time. She fought the battle for a long time. The biggest battle of her life.

They had a private memorial service, because frankly, Hermione wanted it that way. Olivia felt like she lost her mother and her father in one felled swipe, since her father ran away the day after her mother died. He didn't even come to the memorial service. James moved slowly back and forth, as if he were comforting more than just the baby with his rocking, but his wife as well.

"They'll be fine," James reiterated.

"I won't be," she said sadly.

"Yes you will, because time heals all wounds. It's an old saying, but so apropos," James responded. He kissed his wife's lips gently and said, "Let's get the baby back to Edgewood. The kids will write us tonight and let us know what house they got in, so let's go home and wait for the post."

"Is this how sad my mum felt when she saw me off on the train?" she asked James as they walked toward the car.

"Probably, although your pain is perhaps stronger because you've lost more," he answered truthfully.

She said, "Can we go see her gravestone? Harry said it has finally been erected, and I really want to go see it."

"We'll take the baby home to Maude, and then we'll go see it," James agreed.

**At the Graveyard**:

Draco Malfoy stood alone at the foot of his wife's grave. He had just watched the last of his children leave for Hogwarts. He didn't tell anyone he was at the station. He knew that Hermione wanted to live long enough to see them off to school, but she didn't quite make it. He felt the tears coming, and he did nothing to stop them. This was the same graveyard where he found Hermione that day, so long ago. The day he knew that, he loved her. The day she told him that her life was grey. Well, it wasn't grey any longer.

_(Flashback to "A Week in the Life")_

_She didn't really want to walk anymore. She didn't want to run away anymore. She didn't want to do anything anymore. She didn't think she could take even one more step. She could go one place. However, with the terrible mood she was in, wouldn't going there just make her mood even worse? 'No matter', she thought, as she took her wand and just disappeared._

_Two seconds later, she appeared in front of her parents' graves. Her mum and dad were buried in a Wizard graveyard. When her dad died, her mum figured that Hermione would probably one day marry a wizard, and her grandchildren would probably be magical as well, so it made more sense for her husband and her to be buried in a Wizard graveyard. Her mum even bought ten plots. For the big family Hermione would have someday. Yeah, right. Who would have known that just four years after lowering her husband in the grave, Hermione's mum would soon follow. _

_Hermione sat on the ground in front of her parents' headstone and began to cry again. She thought of the day they buried her father, and then she thought of the day they placed her mother next to him. She looked at the names and dates of births and deaths on the smooth black granite. "Beloved parents of Hermione Jean Granger," it said directly below their names. _

_"Mum, Dad," Hermione started speaking; "I miss you both so much, and I love you both so much. I feel so lost and alone. How did my life get so off track? I was always so independent when you were alive, and now that you're both gone, I truly don't know what to do. I lost my job today. I'm so ashamed. I'm sorry. I know you had so many hopes and dreams for me. I must be a terrible disappointment. The thing is, and it's so shallow to say this, but sometimes I feel like if I just had one person who deeply loved me and whom I could love in return, so many of the wrong things would turn right again, you know?" Hermione stopped talking, started to cry again, and slowly lowered herself further to lie on the ground. He arrived just as she first sank to the ground in front of her parents' grave. He heard every single word she cried to them. She looked so sad and pathetic on the ground, in front of their graves, crying her eyes out. If Draco Malfoy did indeed have a heart, which according to most debates he did not, but if he did, it was at that moment breaking. For her._

Here he was once again, and again, his heart was breaking for her. Because he lost her. Because in a way, he felt like he never really had her. He spent their whole life together afraid that she would leave him, and in the end, she did. He sat down near the gravestone, and touched the inscription.

**Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy**

**'The colours of her life touched everyone one who knew her, from the sunshine of her laughter, to the red heat of her anger. The dark blue sadness that envelopes those left behind, is just temporary, for it is impossible to have been part of Hermione Granger Malfoy's life without some of the residual rainbow of her life touching you in a way that will last your entire life, even though hers is over.'**

He didn't know who wrote the inscription, but it was beautiful, and appropriate. He hung his head and sobbed. "I loved you so much! How can I live without you? I can't even breathe without you! I'm nothing without you! How dare you leave me like this!"

Olivia and James apparated to the graveyard just as Draco fell to the ground. Olivia's heart ached at seeing her father in so much pain. James tried to stop her, but he could not stop her as she ran to her father.

She put her hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at her.

* * *

**Farewell: (Fifteen years later):**

Draco felt someone reach out and touch his shoulder. He turned around and saw Hermione. He was amazed. She was as young and beautiful as he always remembered. He stood up, and he looked around and he was confused as to where he was. Wherever he was, the light was bright and blinding. He shut his eyes, and opened them once more. She was still there. He reached for her hand on his shoulder, and took it in his hand.

"Where is this place?" he asked.

Hermione smiled and said, "That's debatable. It's anywhere you want it to be."

"Where have you been?" he asked her.

"I've been patiently waiting for you," she said with a smile.

"I've missed you," he said.

"I could say the same, but truthfully, I haven't missed you. Time means different things here. A year is but a blink of an eye, a decade is but a passing phase. A century means nothing more than a turn of the head," she said.

"I've still missed you, even if you didn't miss me," he said with a sly smile. "I doubted that I would ever see you again."

"Why? Didn't you have faith that our love would transcend time? Our love was always meant to last longer than a mere lifetime. Shame on you for doubting that, Malfoy," she said.

"Well, excuse me, but I've been under a lot of pressure and pain and guilt and sadness these last fifteen years since you died," he said. "I was riddled with grief when you left me. It was hard to continue on without you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'm not privy to other people's pain. I no longer feel pain, only happiness," she said. "I think today is the happiest I have felt since I arrived, just seeing you again." She embraced him.

"You're so young and beautiful again. I'm old and ugly," he said with a smirk.

"No you're not. You're just as I recall. Just as time means nothing, age in no longer a concept. We're all young and healthy here. There's no sorrow, no pain, no illness," she explained.

"Will we be together forever?' he asked.

"And then some," she answered.

"You won't leave me again, will you?" he asked. She took his hand and started to walk away with him.

She said, "I love you, how could I ever leave you again?"

"That's good to know, Granger," he said with a slight smirk, "that's very good to know."

* * *

**Really the End**:

Olivia stood at the foot of her father's grave. She was quietly crying in her husband's arms. By their side were their three young sons, Eric, Oliver and Evan. By the side of the burial plot was Emmy, a beautiful young woman of 26 years old, who was being comforted by Blaise and Harry. On the other side was Ian, with his girlfriend, Diana. Ginny, Ron and all the rest were just beyond the circle.

Harry said, "He lived a good life, you know. A privileged life. He knew happiness, sadness, joy and pain. Many loved him, and he loved many. He's with Hermione now, and that's where he wanted to be more than anything, by her side." Harry let go of Emmy's hand and walked over to Olivia. James let go of his wife to hold his own mother's hand, as Harry took Olivia in his arm.

"Don't feel alone, Olivia. You have us, still, you have a big family who loves you more than anything, and you had parents who loved you more than anything." He looked over at Ian and Emmy. They walked over to their sister. Harry hugged all three of the Malfoy children and he said, "Your parents just went home. That's all, they went home, and someday, you'll see them again, of that much I am certain."

Olivia looked at Harry, with her tears flowing down her cheeks, and she said, "Oh, Harry, do you really believe that?"

"I do," he said, also crying now. "I know they're happy and together." He continued to cry and then said, "Damn, I can't believe I'm crying for Draco Malfoy!"

Everyone laughed.

Olivia sank to the ground, beside her parents' gravestone. Engraved in the stone was:

"Proud parents of Olivia, Ian and Emmeline."

Under Draco's name, it had only one sentence. It said:

**_Draco Malfoy_**

**_Husband of Hermione Granger, father of Olivia, Ian and Emmeline. The best thing he ever did in his life was to marry and to be a father. Enough said_**.

THE COMPLETE AND BITTER END

* * *

_Chapter End Notes:_

_Hermione's epitaph thanks was written by dynonugget. Thanks to everyone who has read this series, and who has offered their support and praise. It's weird that it is over. "A Week in the Life' was the very first fan fiction story I ever wrote, so it feels odd to say goodbye to it forever, but goodbye must be said, for it is really, truly, the end. Thank You._


End file.
